Awards

The nomination period typically opens at the end of Fall Quarter and closes in February. All nominations for the Professional Staff Award for Excellence award must be submitted via the designated Qualtrics form provided by the award committee. This standardized process ensures fairness and consistency in the nomination process.  

Nominees are ineligible to win the Professional Staff Award for Excellence if:  

• They are members of the Professional Staff Organization Executive Committee as of the nomination form deadline. 

• They previously won the award while serving in their current role. 

• They were not a member of the Professional Staff Organization as of the nomination form deadline. 

• They retired from their role or left the university prior to the nomination form deadline. 

The award selection committee may choose between 1 and 4 honorees based on the overall evaluation of nominees. Selected honorees must be confirmed by the PSO Executive Committee. The PSO President will notify the President's Office of the award recipients and the selection committee will notify the award recipients of their selection.  

Using the rubric in the PSO awards folder, nominees will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 

A. Exceptional Communication and Interpersonal Skills (1-5 Points) 

B. Integrity, Professionalism, and Job Performance (1-5 Points) 

C. Initiative, Creativity, and Innovation (1-5 Points) 

Bonus points are rewarded to account for years of service and previous year nominations as a means of recognizing and valuing long-term commitment and continued excellence. Nominees earn .25 points for year of service, and 1 point for each nomination received in previous years (which can be viewed in the “Previous Nominees” tab of the rubric).  

While multiple nominations in the current year do not automatically result in extra points, the accomplishments and qualities noted in all the current year nominations can contribute to the scoring process. Committee members are encouraged to consider the scope of the nominees' impact as outlined in the nominations and are free to acknowledge these achievements in their scoring and selection decisions. 

Additional Considerations in Awardee Selection

In addition to scoring by the criteria above, the award committee will consider: 

• Impact: Consider each nominee's contributions and their impact on the university community, including faculty, staff, and students. Consider the extent to which their work has enhanced the overall environment and culture at the institution. 

• Community Engagement and Service: Consider each nominee's involvement in community engagement and service activities beyond their primary job responsibilities. Look for examples of how they have contributed to the broader community through volunteering, outreach, or other initiatives. 

• Bias: Committees should be mindful of biases arising from relationships between nominators and nominees or between nominees and committee members, ensuring transparency and implementing measures to address potential conflicts of interest, such as recusal or additional conversation. 

• Representation: The award program should recognize the work of PSO members across campus in various functions and divisional areas. Committee members should examine the variety within the current batch of nominees and recent winners to ensure comprehensive representation of excellence within the PSO community. 

By considering these qualitative factors in addition to the numerical scoring criteria, committees can ensure a comprehensive and holistic evaluation of award nominees for the Professional Staff Organization for Excellence award.