Joseph Walker, carpenter with Kent State University hugs
Kent State President Beverly Warren after she presented
him with a 2014 President's Excellence Award for ensuring
a "student first" focus. Nominations for the 2015 awards
are being accepted through Nov. 6.

Nominations for the annual President’s Excellence Award will be accepted from Oct. 12 through Nov. 6. The award program recognizes staff members who demonstrate exceptional performance in advancing the strategic goals of the university during the previous fiscal year.

Over the past six years, 51 staff members have been recognized with the President’s Excellence Award, and each received a check for $1,000. Past recipients have come from diverse areas within the university and include employees in varied positions, such as program manager, administrative support staff, maintenance repair worker, residence hall workers, director, coordinator, electronic technician supervisor, a police officer and a mail services worker. You can view a complete list of past recipients on the President’s Excellence Award website.

In 2009, the President's Excellence Award was created as a recognition program to reward staff members who demonstrate daily commitment and performance in advancing the university's strategic goals. To view the universities strategic vision, core values and priorities, check out the Strategic Visioning Web page.

In keeping with the purpose of the President’s Excellence Award, a nominee must demonstrate exceptional performance in advancing one of the following criteria that are aligned with the university's strategic goals. This includes actions, initiatives or projects related to the list below, and must have occurred during the previous fiscal year (July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015). This includes actions, initiatives or projects related to:

• Ensuring a “Student First” focus
• Enhancing the distinction of Kent State University as “One University”
• Increasing the university’s global competitiveness
• Demonstrating the spirit of collaboration to leverage Kent State’s global reach for local impact
• Building commitment and loyalty to Kent State among constituents
• Supporting a commitment to diversity as an institutional asset
• Displaying a commitment to operational efficiency to enhance and expand it for the next generation of academically motivated students
  

Full-time classified and unclassified employees at all Kent State locations who have been employed by the university for a minimum of one year and are in good standing are eligible for nomination. Past recipients of the President's Excellence Award are not eligible to be nominated again for a minimum of two years following their award. Faculty members are not eligible for this award.

Nominations may come from peers, supervisors or other divisional leaders, faculty or students, and must be submitted by Nov. 6 to be considered. Nominations will be reviewed, and a final list will be submitted to the Office of the President. The final decision resides with the president; award recipients will be announced in March.

The nomination form, along with detailed information on the award criteria and the nomination process, is available on the President’s website. The nomination forms may be printed and mailed or submitted electronically.

If you have questions regarding the award or nomination process, please contact Geraldine Hayes-Nelson, Ph.D., executive director for HR Outreach and Initiatives, at 330-672-2901 or ghnelson@kent.edu.