The Professional Staff Award for Excellence recognizes outstanding performance and demonstrated professional excellence by members of the professional staff of the college. The award for Innovation and Creativity recognizes a special initiative; awards for Sustained Excellence are presented for exceptionally outstanding and meritorious work over an extended period of time.
Each year the college presents one individual Professional Staff Award for Excellence for Innovation and Creativity and three individual Professional Staff Awards for Excellence for Sustained Excellence to recognize professional staff for outstanding service to one of three categories: 1) teaching and outreach; 2) research, and 3) administration/management or technical contributions. Each award includes a recurring salary increment of $500 and a certificate of recognition. An individual may receive the Professional Staff Award for Excellence only once.
All academic professional personnel on active paid employment in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences during any part of the year of nomination are eligible for the awards. Nominees for the Sustained Excellence Award also must have been employed in the college as an academic professional for a minimum of 10 years at the time of nomination. The unit head must verify the nominee's eligibility. If an issue arises concerning the eligibility for the award, the issue will be decided by the dean, associate deans, and the College Executive Committee.
Nominations are submitted to the secretary of the Executive Committee using the online form. If the nominee is declared eligible by the unit head, the original and five copies of the supporting materials listed below should be submitted.
All supporting materials must be Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins and include the following:
Biographical and statistical information, including personal information, education, employment record, and relevant affiliations. (One single-spaced 8.5" by 11" page maximum.)
Contributions appropriate to the award for which the individual is being nominated that address the candidates: 1) Work Contributions by detailing how these advance teaching, research, and service missions and explaining the work’s impact in these areas; 2) Personal Contributions to others including faculty, staff, students, and members of the public and an explanation of the way in which the nominee meets the special demands of his or her workplace and 3) their Professional Contributions, including recognition received, publications, participation in professional societies, and committee work. In addition, there should be a discussion of the nominee's impact at the regional, national, or international level, if applicable. (Six double-spaced 8.5” by 11” pages maximum.)
Letters should consist of no more than two letters or supporting statements, excluding one from the person or persons making the nomination.
Supporting materials that deviate from these guidelines will be returned to the unit for revision.
A five-person committee will be appointed to select the recipients of the awards. The selection committee will have representation from various areas staffed by academic professional personnel (e.g., teaching, research, extension, and administrative and technical support), with at least three of the five committee members being academic professionals. The chair of the selection committee, in consultation with its members, shall develop guidelines for its operation. The selection committee will consider the nominee's achievement and total performance in support of the college or any of its units. The selection committee may decide against granting an award if no meritorious candidate has been nominated. The selection committee shall submit its recommendations for recipients to the dean. The dean shall notify each recipient, the appropriate associate dean and/or unit head, and the secretary of the Executive Committee.
All copies of the supporting materials must be returned to the dean's office by the chair of the selection committee at the completion of the selection process.