Outstanding Staff Award
Tal Haring honored with 2025 Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Staff Award
Tal Haring ’19 (MBA), the manager of academic finance and operations in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is being honored for his initiative, collegiality, and dependability with the 2025 Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Staff Award.
“Tal is a highly capable and collaborative colleague whose work ethic, professionalism, and institutional knowledge have made him indispensable to our department,” says Darren Lipomi, chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering. “He has helped foster a culture of trust, responsiveness, and professionalism that reflects the highest standards of academic administration.”
Haring’s career at the University of Rochester began in 2016 with the Department of Chemical Engineering, where he spent two and a half years before being recruited by the Institute of Optics to serve, ultimately, as director of industry partnerships. He rejoined the Department of Chemical Engineering in 2023 in a senior administrative role, supervising department staff, managing space and facilities, and handling all aspects of financial oversight, including budgeting, account reconciliation, and the administration of research awards.
Haring offered a steady hand as he rejoined the department during a period of rapid transition that saw the hiring of six new faculty members, including a new chair. Professor Mitchell Anthamatten, the previous department chair, says Haring’s presence “has been a stabilizing and energizing force in our department, and I cannot think of a more deserving candidate for this recognition.”
Associate Professor Marc Porosoff added, “Tal is our ace in the hole. He contributes to every committee, he helps with grant submissions and management, and he’s a pleasure to work with.”
And Wendi Heinzelman, Dean of the Hajim School, noted, “Tal is an outstanding administrator who is adept at solving problems and who supports the chemical engineering faculty, staff, and students in every possible way. We are lucky to have him as a colleague.”
With the award, Haring adds to his family’s legacy of service at the University. His late mother, Debra Haring, received the Witmer Award for Distinguished Service, one of the University’s highest staff awards, in 2010.