Staff Excellence Awards

Faculty, staff, and students in the college are invited to submit nominations for a Staff Excellence Award, as described below.

Purpose

The College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences (CESHS) at Washington State University has established the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences Staff Excellence Awards to recognize truly outstanding accomplishments and contributions of classified and exempt staff. The awards are designed to honor staff members who demonstrate the highest levels of leadership, performance, and excellence in pursuit of the college’s academic and professional goals and, thereby, the fulfillment of its mission.

Nominations for the awards are solicited annually in two categories. These categories are:

Staff Excellence in Service
Staff Excellence in Supporting Community and Belonging

SELECTION COMMITTEE COMPOSITION & TERM OF SERVICE

The Selection Committee will be comprised of up to four staff members

The term of service will be two years, with approximately half of the membership returning each year.

SELECTION COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The college’s administrative assistant schedules the meeting of the selection committee and ensures members have the application materials. At that meeting each year, the committee will select one of its members to serve as “Chair.” The Chair is responsible for facilitating the selection process and for conveying the committee’s selection to the dean.

AWARD ELIGIBILITY

All civil service and exempt staff members are eligible to be nominated for one or both of the Staff Excellence Awards (Excellence in Service and Excellence in Supporting Community and Belonging) if they have been employed in the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences for at least 12 months and if they have not been recipients of the award within the past three years.

Nomination and selection process

An eligible person can be nominated by any member of the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences who has in-depth knowledge of the activities of the person. Self-nominations may also be made. There are two categories for this award. Two awards can be made from the same category or one award from each category, depending on nominations.

Nominations must be submitted to the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences via the nomination form found at: Staff Excellence Nomination and submitted by March 31, Nominators may include other materials or optional letters of support as deemed useful in illustrating the nominee’s contributions and achievements.

The selection committee may elect not to give an award if nominations are not received or if the evidence of excellence is not compelling.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS

Each award, consisting of a certificate and a $1,000 cash award will be presented by the dean at an appropriate event as a way of recognizing the contribution of the recipient and of reaffirming the college’s dedication to excellence in its activities. The names of staff award recipients will be listed on the CESHS webpage Faculty/Staff Awards.

AWARD CRITERIA: STAFF EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE

This award recognizes staff members whose job performance exceeds customary standards or who exhibit exemplary skills or dedication in the performance of special projects. Award recipients will have made a significant impact on the University through outstanding leadership, job proficiency, service to students, and creative problem solving, as demonstrated by one or more of the following:

Leadership and Job Proficiency | Examples include, but are not limited to:

Developed, or made a significant contribution to, a process or system that resulted in improved functioning, efficiency, and/or effectiveness.
Demonstrated an exceptional level of program, departmental, or intuitional knowledge and proficiency that added significant value to a workplace project, initiative, or service to students.
Provided leadership and/or assumed responsibility for key programmatic, departmental, or institutional initiatives.

Service to Students, Faculty, and Colleagues | Examples include, but are not limited to:

Created or improved systems that serve students and/or increased student satisfaction (including prospective students and alumni).
Fostered collaboration, communication, and cooperation with faculty, among colleagues and with members of the campus community with exceptional skill and sensitivity
Facilitated the success of others, either through supervision, teamwork, or individual assistance.

Initiative and Problem Solving | Examples include, but are not limited to:

Developed or suggested solutions to issues that resulted in more effective and efficient operations at the program, departmental, or college level.
Developed new procedures or practices that increased efficiency or resulted in a better use of resources.
Exhibited a commitment to personal or professional development that provided added value to their role and functioning within the unit.

AWARD CRITERIA: STAFF EXCELLENCE IN SUPPORTING COMMUNITY AND BELONGING

This award recognizes staff members who have made significant contributions to supporting community and belonging, broadly conceived, as an essential component of the college’s quest for excellence. This may include efforts to recruit, support, and retain diverse students, as well as initiation and implementation of practices and procedures that expand our understanding of belonging, as demonstrated by one or more of the following:

Promoted and actively cultivated a program, department, or campus environment that is welcoming, supportive, and nurturing of cultural, ethnic, racial, class, gender, sexual orientation, language and other human differences.
Demonstrated a commitment to promoting access, and success for all students, staff, and faculty in the CESHS.
Contributed to raising awareness and consciousness among students, faculty, and other staff about community and belonging within the context of the university’s mission and for the greater good of students in the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences.
Participated or took a leadership role in activities that directly impacted students, faculty and staff in a way that made them feel valued, respected, and included regardless of background or identity.

Nomination Forms

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