DFO Debbie Lemos is Presented With the Arnice P. Streit Award

Debbie Lemos, director of finance and operations for the Math Department, has won the 2025 Arnice P. Streit Award for her continued distinguished service to the school, commitment to excellence, exceptional judgement, and creativity to meet program objectives. 

In honor of Arnice P. Streit, this award is presented to staff members who embody Streit’s 27-year commitment to several vital roles and her lasting impression upon students, faculty and staff alike. 

In Lemos’s nearly four-decade-long career at Stanford, she has “welcomed and guided at least eight department Chairs, and countless faculty and staff, all of whom seek her out for her guidance and support in all aspects of work and life,” Math Department Chair Andras Vasy said about Debbie. 

Not only has she been a vocal advocate in communicating and negotiating the needs of the department, she has led an integral and far-reaching department through significant challenges and overarching importance. Within the department, Debbie deals with department matters justly and methodically; leading faculty and staff through unprecedented times, employing a shared identity in the department, and navigating difficult personnel issues such as staff or faculty struggling to meet expectations. 

"There is a common phrase jokingly used among us in the department when she is out: 'What would Debbie do?” Assistant Director of Operations Kirstyn Caldwell wrote in her award nomination letter. 

Within the School of Humanities and Sciences, Debbie founded a DFO community-building group which organizes retreats, offers mentorship to new DFOs, and fosters a sense of camaraderie through their “Coffee with Colleagues” events. 

One of Debbie’s greatest contributions to the Stanford community is bringing on students from Peninsula Bridge, a non-profit organization that empowers highly motivated first-gen low-income students to achieve academic and career success, to intern in the department’s front office. Of the 35 interns placed in 17 different departments through H&S, 10 interns have been hired into full-time positions. 

“I am immensely grateful to Debbie for her help without which I would not have been able to navigate the challenges of this position,” Andras said.