Staff Excellence Award (Individual & Team)

Nomination Forms are due in February of each year.

Eligibility

All full and part-time regular, non-faculty employees in the College, regardless of the length of service, are eligible. Those previously nominated but were not an award recipient are eligible for re-nomination. Temporary employees, students, faculty, and past award recipients are not eligible for consideration. Nominations will be accepted for:

  • Individual staff members.
  • Staff team groups (two up to six staff members who function as a group) or teams who have taken on time-limited tasks. 

Criteria

When reviewing nominations, the Selection Committee will look for examples of sustained excellence in an individual’s service. Consideration will be given to nominees who have made significant contributions or possess special qualities and attributes, such as:

  • promoted a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for faculty, staff and/or students
  • exhibited strong work qualities such as dependability, patience, and commitment
  • solved challenging problems by demonstrating creativity and innovation (often leading to time-saving and cost-saving results)
  • facilitated the success of others, either through supervision, teamwork or individual assistance
  • demonstrated a willingness to take on new or additional tasks; pitched in when needed
  • fostered collaboration and cooperation among colleagues
  • an extended extra effort to help others – whether faculty, staff or students
  • exhibited exemplary citizenship through active involvement in the College of Engineering (citizenship is defined as the quality of an individual’s participation in improving the larger community)

When reviewing team or workgroup nominations, the Selection Committee will look for:

  • a team or group that tackled a project or assignment larger than its members’ individual job descriptions
  • a team or group that actively pooled its skills, talents, and knowledge, with evidence of each member’s contributions and mutual support of each other
  • evidence of benefits accruing from team’s or work group’s efforts

Selection of the recipients will be based only on the information provided as part of the nomination process. All nomination materials remain confidential.

The recipients will receive:

  • an individual cash award of $3,000
  • a team cash award of $2,000 for each team member (up to six team members)
  • a certificate
  • recognition at the CoE Excellence in Staff Service Awards event

All recipients will be notified prior to the event.

Who May Nominate

All current members of the College community (students, faculty, staff, and alumni) are invited to submit nominations. The nomination form should be completed and returned by February 9, 2024. If your nominee is selected to receive an award, the nominator is responsible for notifying the other letter writers that endorsed the nomination.

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee is comprised of previous award recipients and an external member. The Committee will submit its recommendations to the Dean and the Sr. Executive Director of Resource Planning and Management for final approval. Members of the Committee, the Dean and the RPM Sr. Executive Director are precluded from submitting nominations or letters of support.

Award Nomination Guidelines

Complete the information requested on the individual nomination form or team nomination form in its entirety.

The nominator must attach a letter/memo of support. In addition, each nomination must be supported by  a minimum of four or a maximum of six other endorsement letters. The nominator should gather letters/memos or emails of support and submit them with his or her nomination.  Each letter must be no more than one page in length.

Tips on Nominating Candidates

If you know staff members who perform their jobs in an exemplary manner or workgroups/teams that are highly productive and effective, please nominate them for an award.

In preparing nomination materials, please:

  • Be specific – give examples and the details of what your candidate or team/workgroup has done that meets the selection criteria. Every candidate will not exhibit all of the award-winning characteristics, but you should show how your candidate has many of them.
  • Avoid general statements such as: “the nominee has a pleasant personality,” “the nominee is a seasoned professional,” or “the nominee is always helpful.”
  • Include as much qualitative and quantitative information as you can about the nominee’s work and contributions on behalf of the unit/College.
  • If you are nominating a team or workgroup, be sure to list all members and describe how they work collaboratively for the benefit of the unit/College. The nomination statement should explain the importance of team effort to the group’s overall success.
  • Be sure to submit your nomination no later than date.

Submitting a Nomination

To submit a nomination electronically, please submit via the individual nomination form or team nomination form link to the left of this page.

If you have any questions about an individual’s eligibility or what is required to complete a nomination contact Dawn Kapalla at [email protected].