The University of Wisconsin-Platteville announces another milestone achievement for one of its distinguished alumni. Dr. Michael O’Connor, a 2006 graduate of the Master of Science in Project Management program, was recently recognized as a winner of the 2021 Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Eric Jenett Project Management Excellence Award. This award recognizes and honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the project management field or its practice through leadership, technical project management, and strategic and business management expertise.
O’Connor is the Director Strategy and Project Management at Medtronic, Corporate Science and Technology in the Scientific Strategic Operation’s Organization, where he has worked for nearly 19 years. Receiving recognition for his work is nothing new to O’Connor, whose recent accolades include the 2021 PMO Global Alliance, Individual Category PMO Leader of the Year Regional Winner and World Finalist, the 2020 American Society for Quality (ASQ) Hutchens Medal for Social Responsibility, and the 2019 American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM) Engineering Manager of the Year Award.
Earning the Eric Jenett Excellence Award this year marks something of a special occasion for both O’Connor and the university. In addition to his involvement in professional project management organizations, volunteering and philanthropy, O’Connor has stayed involved with the university as an adjunct instructor. Yet this isn’t the first time a UW-Platteville instructor has won the prestigious award—in 2014, the late Dr. Ginger Levin earned that accomplishment. With the addition of O’Connor, UW-Platteville now claims two project management instructors who have won the award—a feat not lost on the latest winner.
“I am honored to be a recipient of the Project Management Institute Eric Jenett Award for 2021,” said O’Connor. “It gives me great pleasure to stand alongside Dr. Ginger Levin, who was a longtime mentor and adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.”
For more information about UW-Platteville’s MSPM program, which this year was ranked as one of the top values in the nation, prospective students can click here.