It’s time to recognize the outstanding individuals and teams who make a difference on campus! Nominations are open for the 2020 University of Arizona Awards for Excellence. The UA Awards for Excellence recognize achievements of Classified Staff and Appointed Professionals (soon to be University Staff) in 4 categories: UA Award for Excellence, Billy Joe Varney Award for Excellence, UA Team Award for Excellence, and Department Award for Excellence. The Classified Staff Council, the Appointed Professionals Advisory Council, and the President's Cabinet sponsor these awards.
University of Arizona Award for Excellence will be presented to approximately 9 members of the Classified Staff and the Appointed Professionals, regardless of their length of service, classification or pay grade. These awards are designed to recognize outstanding achievements. Nominations are evaluated respectively within six pay levels to ensure an equal distribution of awards among employees at all levels. Nominated Individuals must be benefits-eligible.
The Billy Joe Varney Award for Excellence will be presented to one Classified Staff or Appointed Professional employee, with at least 15 cumulative years of employment at the University, who merits special recognition for a career of dedicated service to the University, its employees, and the community. Nominees can be chosen from any employment category. Individuals nominated must be benefits-eligible.
The University of Arizona Team Award for Excellence will be presented to a team primarily comprised of Classified Staff and Appointed Professionals and tasked with a specific project or function. Team members should have complementary skills, be committed to a common purpose and share specific performance goals. They should also have established means by which to hold themselves mutually accountable. A team shall be defined as two or more benefits-eligible employees, regardless of their length of service. The award will be presented in recognition of the team’s outstanding contribution to its unit, department, or University as a whole.
The Department Award for Excellence will be presented to a single department in recognition of its outstanding departmental excellence in the management of its people and resources. Nominations should include specific examples of exemplary performance in the criteria themes outlined. Judges will look how much departments meet and/or exceed the selection criteria. The department selected by the judges to receive the University of Arizona Department Award for Excellence will receive a commemorative plaque.
All of these honors, with the exception of the Department Award for Excellence, carry with them a university-funded monetary award and, therefore, must be based on achievements in activities beyond normal duties. On behalf of the organizations supporting this recognition, we encourage you to nominate employees in your area who you feel are making outstanding contributions to the University.
Nominations must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 3, 2020. Late or Incomplete Packets Will Not Be Accepted!
Print and post a flyer in your office and encourage others to nominate too! Don't delay, award nominations require letters of recommendation and it may require time to collect them!
Recipients will be notified in March. Awards will be presented by President Robbins at the UA Awards for Excellence ceremony on Monday, April 27, 2020.
For questions about the awards or nomination forms, contact us at UAExcellenceAwards@email.arizona.edu
Recognize Someone with a Wildcat Family Spirit Certificate of Appreciation
We also offer a simple and quick way to help you recognize great people with a Wildcat Family Spirit Certificate of Appreciation - Developed in response to University of Arizona employees wanting to show their appreciation to their fellow employees and others for exemplary customer service, innovative improvements, outstanding performance or for fostering diversity, creativity, cooperation and community spirit.
