October 9, 2023

Now is your chance to celebrate outstanding UW staff members whose achievements deserve recognition by nominating them for the Distinguished Staff Award — our University’s highest staff honor.

Faculty, staff and students may submit nominations for staff members and teams primarily composed of staff members who exemplify excellence in the following categories:

  • Collaboration: Has made an outstanding achievement or provides ongoing excellence through effective collaboration.
  • Innovation: Has created lasting change through implementing an innovative solution to a complex problem or driving a significant effort that enhanced service and/or efficiency.
  • Impact: Has made a significant impact at the UW. The results of the impact can be at the team, department or institution level or have helped a specific audience or community.
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Has contributed to building welcoming and respectful learning and working environments and/or whose work promotes access, opportunity and justice.
  • Career achievement: Has dedicated many years of service to the UW and has demonstrated excellence throughout their career. (Only available for individual nominations.)

Any staff member who holds a 50% or greater regular appointment and has been employed at the UW for at least six months by Friday, Dec. 15, can be nominated. For team nominations, the team can include faculty, graduate students and student workers, but must be primarily composed of staff that fit the above criteria for individual nominees. Additional award criteria can be found on the Distinguished Staff Award website.

A selection committee with a deep understanding of different employee types and the breadth of staff positions at the UW, as well as experience in building or supporting workplaces and/or programs where inclusion and belonging are prioritized, will review the nominations.

Every nominee will receive a congratulatory letter and copy of their nomination, and will be celebrated at the Distinguished Staff Award reception in winter quarter. As part of the UW’s Awards of Excellence, five of these nominees will be selected for a $5,000 award and honored at the annual Awards of Excellence ceremony in June 2024.

Please help celebrate and recognize staff who make a lasting impact on our organization, our coworkers and the communities we serve. Make your nomination on the Distinguished Staff Award website by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15.

Thank you for helping us celebrate our outstanding UW staff.