Nomination Process

Nominations for the 2024 Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff will be accepted through December 23, 2024.

Staff who are regular employees of the university for at least six months prior to the award ceremony are eligible to be nominated. Rising Star Award nominees must be employees for three years or less. Albert J. Simone Legacy Award nominees must be employees for twenty-five years or more.

The selection committee is comprised of seven voting members and three non-voting members. Voting members include one staff member from each of the six voting blocks and a Staff Council Representative. Non-voting members include the Staff Council Vice President and Coordinator (committee co-chairs) and a Human Resources liaison.

Block representatives serve a two-year commitment. The Staff Council Representative serves a one-year commitment.  

Selection committee members who are voting members will be recused from their term if a committee member accepts an individual or team nomination or provides a nomination or a reference to another eligible staff member.

A call for nominations will be sent out through university messaging channels in late fall of each year. Nominators will be responsible for completing a Qualtrics survey to provide specific examples of how their nominee meets and/or exceeds the award criteria.

Nominations are confidential. Any supporting documentation provided by the nominator is destroyed upon completion of the selection process. 

Nomination materials will NOT be accepted after the deadline.

Individual staff members and teams will be notified by the Staff Council Office of their nomination once the nomination period has closed. Nominees must accept or decline within three weeks of this notification. A formal acceptance includes two brief personal statements and the names of two professional references and current supervisor. All materials will be submitted through Qualtrics.

If a nominee (team or individual) declines their nomination, they are not considered nominees and are not included in any nominee announcements.

Nomination materials will NOT be accepted after the deadline.

References will be contacted by the Staff Council Office and will be asked to complete a Qualtrics survey to provide specific examples of how the nominee meets and/or exceeds the award criteria. References will be given one month to submit their Qualtrics survey.

References are confidential. Any supporting documentation provided by the reference is destroyed upon completion of the selection process. 

References will NOT be accepted after the deadline.

Interviews may be scheduled for nominees if the Selection Committee requires additional information beyond the original nomination materials.  Individual nominees will meet with two representatives from the Selection Committee.  Team nominees will provide two representatives to speak on behalf of their team, including the team spokesperson who was identified in the nomination acceptance.