2024 theme: Whiting Olympics in celebration of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
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graphic depicting Olympic rings as gears

2023 theme: Whiting’s Got Talent
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Glittery 3D image of the words "Whiting's got Talent"

  

2022 theme: The Office

Award Information

Eligibility

Nominees must be employed in the Whiting School for a minimum of one year (except for the Rookie Award), be in good standing at the university, and have a satisfactory job performance.

Awards

  • Rookie of the Year (one award, for someone hired between 01/01/2023 and 12/31/2023)
  • Excellence Awards (three awards)
  • Leadership Award (one award, given to a manager or supervisor of staff)

Nomination and Review Timeline (2024)

April 29 – Nominations open 
May 30 – Nominations close
June 4 – Committee receives scoring sheets
June 4 to 11 – Committee reviews nominations and submit scores
June 12 to 14 – Committee meets to select winners

Nomination Criteria

Excellence/Rookie of the Year Awards:
  1. Examples of the nominee’s significant achievements and contributions to the department/center/institute and the school and/or university.
  2. Examples of exemplary service, activities and/or performance that go above and beyond the expectations for their position.
  3. Examples of how the nominee has exhibited qualities or behaviors that have made them an exceptional team player (including initiative, communication, and helpful attitude).
  4. Examples of how the nominee demonstrated outstanding commitment and professionalism.
Leadership Award:
  1. Examples of the nominee’s significant achievements and contributions to the department/center/institute and the school and/or university.
  2. Examples of exemplary leadership activities and/or performance that go above and beyond the expectations for their position.
  3. Examples of how the nominee encourages the professional development and growth of their colleagues.
  4. Examples of how the nominee cultivates a culture of excellence and inclusion.

To nominate a colleague, please complete this nomination form. (opens April 29)

Scoring

For each award, nominees will be anonymously evaluated across all four categories and will be scored on a scale from zero to four, according to their demonstrated ability in each category. 

You can view the scoring rubrics for the Excellence/Rookie and Leadership awards here.

Nomination Review Committee

The review committee will include six people as outlined below. 

  • A staff representative from a department
  • A staff representative from a center/institute
  • A staff representative from WSE’s Office of the Dean
  • A previous year’s award winner
  • A faculty member
  • A representative from WSE leadership
Once the scores have been calculated, the committee will receive the rankings and will attend a one-hour meeting to review the rankings and decide on the winners.
  • If you are interested in volunteering to be a member of the Nomination Review Committee for 2024, please submit your information here.
  • For transparency, we ask volunteers for the review committee to refrain from submitting nominations, and they are ineligible to receive awards themselves.

Save the Date

The 2024 Staff Awards ceremony and lunch will take place on Tuesday, July 9 at the Glass Pavilion, Homewood campus.

Questions

If you have any questions, or need more information, please contact Melanie Mossman.

Exclusions

Award winners from previous years are not eligible for nomination in the current year.

2024 Winners

  • Rookie of the Year: Toni DeTallo, Administrative Coordinator, CS
  • Leadership: Debbie Lantry, Sr. Administrative Manager, CaSE
  • Excellence: Denise Brown, Budget Analyst, HEMI
  • Excellence: Sonya Brown, Academic Program Administrator, ChemBE
  • Excellence: Wick Eisenberg, Sr. Communications Specialist, ROSEI

2023 Winners

  • Rookie of the Year: Joseph Nkansah-Mahaney, Associate Staff Engineering, HEMI
  • Leadership: Olysha Magruder, Director of Learning Design and Faculty Development, CLDT
  • Excellence: Carla Dodd, Grants and Contracts Manager, INBT
  • Excellence: Diana Carstens, Sr. Administrative Coordinator, CBID
  • Excellence: Kyra Vocci, Sr. Grants and Contracts Analyst, ROSEI

2022 Winners

  • Rookie of the Year: Susanna Elliott, Grants and Contracts Manager, EBO
  • Leadership: Matthew Shaeffer, Sr. Staff Engineer, HEMI
  • Excellence: Patreena Parsons, Director of Institutional Research, EBO
  • Excellence: Kristen Swaney, Scientific Project Administrator, BME
  • Excellence: Alison Wampler, Grants & Contracts Manager, ME

2021 Winners

  • Rookie of the Year: Justin Moreno, Associate Staff Engineer, HEMI
  • Virtual Innovator: Colleen Amaral, Administrative Coordinator, ECE
  • Leadership: Scott McGhee, Sr. Administrative Manager, HEMI
  • Excellence: Phil Chapman, Associate Staff Engineer, MatSci
  • Excellence: Catherine Graham, Communications Specialist, MechE
  • Excellence: Revelie Niles Academic Program Administrator, CS