Staff Excellence Awards

Purpose

The College of Engineering Staff Excellence Awards have been established to recognize those individuals who demonstrate exemplary ability and outstanding performance in their respective positions and who have contributed to the overall success of the College.

Eligibility

Nominees

• All regular full and regular part-time staff members of the College of Engineering (with the exception of the Dean, Associate Deans, Assistant Deans, Department Chairs, and Center Directors) with at least one year of service in the College prior to January 1 of the year in which the award is given are eligible.
• Information regarding job classification, employee status, and years of service will be obtained from the College’s Business Office prior to the end of the nomination period.
• After having received the award, a staff member will not be eligible for it again until after five award cycles have passed.

Nominators

• Any employee of the College of Engineering may submit a nomination/nominations with the exception of the Selection Committee members.
• There is no limit to the number of nominations an individual may submit.
• Self-nominations are acceptable.

Qualifications

• Nominees should possess the following qualities:
  • Exceptional dedication to the job;
  • Positive attitude about the job, the department/unit, and the College;
  • Exceptional interpersonal relations with colleagues and members of the University community with whom the employee has contact; and
  • Proven record of exceptional performance/productivity.

Nomination Process

• A formal request for nominations will be made by the Dean via the Selection Committee Chair each spring with a nomination deadline.
• Nominations can be made using the online Staff Excellence Awards Nomination Form.
• All nomination forms will be directed to the Selection Committee Chair.
• Nominators will be notified that their forms have been received.
• Nominees will be contacted after their eligibility has been verified to confirm their nomination acceptance.
• In order to promote the award more effectively, calls for nominations will be sent out via email until the nomination deadline.

Selection Committee

• The Selection Committee will consist of previous recipients of the award.
• The Selection Committee will choose a Chair at its first meeting.

Selection Process

• At the end of the nomination period, the Selection Committee Chair will process all nomination forms for Selection Committee review using the following guidelines:
  • Forms will be sorted by job classification (exempt/non-exempt);
  • Responses for candidates who received multiple nominations will be grouped together so it will be clear to the Selection Committee that a particular candidate received multiple nominations; and
  • Nominator information will be redacted.
• The Selection Committee members will review all nomination forms and rank the candidates based upon the merits of the nominee as follows:
  • (1) most deserving
  • (2) second most deserving
  • (3) third most deserving
• After the Selection Committee members have ranked the candidates, the Chair will calculate an overall point value for each nominee as follows:
  • (1) most deserving rankings will receive a value of 3 points
  • (2) second most deserving rankings will receive a value of 2 points
  • (3) third most deserving rankings will receive a value of 1 point
• Two finalists will be chosen, one in the category of exempt staff, and one in the category of non-exempt staff based upon the highest number of points received.
• In the event of a tie, the entire Selection Committee will review only the nominees who are tied and rank them again. Another overall point value will then be determined. If there is still a tie, the entire Selection Committee will discuss the nominees and decide upon who should be the finalist.
• The Dean will announce the winners at the staff appreciation lunch, based upon the Selection Committee’s recommendations.

Awards

• All nominees and winners will be announced at the annual staff appreciation lunch, which is typically held in either May or June.
• The award for the winners will consist of several components:
  • A framed certificate;
  • Name engraved on the Staff Excellence Awards perpetual plaque, located outside of the Dean’s Office; and
  • A pre-tax monetary award of $1,000 to be distributed in a future paycheck.
• The Selection Committee Chair will register the two award recipients for the “Outstanding Staff Awards” luncheon which is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Staff Senate.