Each year, the University of South Florida seeks to recognize employees who demonstrate "above and beyond" performance excellence and support the values in USF's Strategic Plan - In Pursuit of Excellence. The hard work and dedication of these staff and administrative employees greatly contributes to USF's success and upward trajectory.
THE 2024 nomination period is now CLOSED
Thank you everyone for submitting your nominations! We received more nominations than we have across the last several years, showcasing that the work our employees and teams are doing is above and beyond and aligns with USF's Stratgiec Plan. The Outstanding Staff Awards Planning Team along with Leadership have agreed to postponing the previously schedule ceremony that was set for November 1, 2024 in lieu of the closures we faced with Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
Current status: The Selection Committee members have selected the nominated winners for their areas. The selected winners were notified on Monday, December 2, 2024. Those that were nominated but not selected for this years award have been notified as of December 19, 2024.
Submitting nominations
Do you know a deserving individual or team that deserve recognition? When the 2025 nominatoin period opens, you'll be able to select the applicable nomination forms linked below.
- Individual Award Nomination Form | Submit a nomination sharing recognition of a single employee's "above and beyond" performance and support the values in USF's Strategic Plan.
- Team Award Nomination Form | Submit a nomination for the recognition of a team of employees for its execution
of a project, plan and/or initiative that:
- Break silos across OneUSF and incorporates a team from across two or more units and/or across two or more campuses,
- Demonstrates above and beyond performance, and
- Supports the values in USF's Strategic Plan - In Pursuit of Excellence.
ELIGIBILITY AND NOMINATION PROCESS
Eligibility
All staff and administrative employees (in a regular, established position) continuously employed from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, are eligible for nomination. To continue meeting eligibility, an employee must be employed on an established position thirty days prior to the awards ceremony to receive the award. Time spent in temporary (OPS) assignments will not count towards eligibility.
Faculty and temporary employees (student and non-student) are not eligible to be nominated for the Outstanding Staff Awards. However, faculty and temporary employees (student and non-student) are welcome to participate in nominating staff and administrative employees for recognition.
Nomination Process for the Nominator
Complete your individual or team nomination online with the appropriate 2024 Outstanding Staff Awards Nomination Forms linked above. We will only accept nominations completed through the online form. Prepare the text of your nomination in advance; it is highly recommended that you write the body of your nomination ahead of time, using the prompts for the nomination form. You can then copy and paste the text into the fields provided on the online form.
Process for the Selection Committee
Central Human Resources (CHR) will validate eligibility, then provide the nominations of all eligible candidates to each VP Area Outstanding Staff Award (OSA) Selection Committee for review. CHR will maintain copies of all nomination forms.
frequently asked questions
| Question | Answer |
| How many employees can be included in a team nomination? | To support our OneUSF approach, there is no longer a limit on how many employees may be nominated for a team award, but each member should have contributed significantly to the team. |
| Who can submit an outstanding staff award nomination? | Any member of the USF Community may submit an Outstanding Staff Award nomination. As a OneUSF program, we encourage nominations from members of all campuses in order to showcase the wide range of contributions of our staff and administrative employees. We also encourage nominations of staff and administrative employees who are essential workers, veterans, and members of historically marginalized groups. |
| Can someone nominate an employee from a different department or VP area? | Absolutely. An employee can nominate their colleague, supervisor, or someone they work with from a different area. |
| Can someone nominate themselves for an award? | Yes! If an eligible employee would like to nominate themselves for an individual or team award, they are encouraged to do so. |
| Can someone be nominated for more than one award? | Absolutely. An employee can win an individual and/or a team award. |
| I want to nominate a team but one of the team members has only been here six months. Is the team still eligible? | Yes, though only team members that meet the eligibility criteria will be considered for an award. The team members not eligible can still attend the ceremony and cheer on their fellow team members from the audience, but they will not be recognized on stage or with a monetary award. |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who is eligible for an Outstanding Staff Award? | All regular staff and administration employees (with a position number) continuously employed on a position from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, are eligible for nomination. Faculty and temporary employees (student and non-student) are not eligible to be nominated but are welcome to participate in nominating staff and administrative employees. |
| Are previous winners eligible to win again? | Yes. There are no limits set regarding how many times an employee can receive an Outstanding Staff Award. |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| When is the ceremony? | The selected winners, their direct supervsiors, and Senior Leadership will receive notification of the ceremony date and details to follow regarding parking, guests, and additional details. The selected winners will be notified once the Selection Committee has completed their review and selection. |
| If I am not a selected winner, can I attend? | Due to space limitations, we regret that not everyone will be able to attend in person. However, we are excited to share that the ceremony will be recorded, and photos will be made available for everyone to enjoy. |
| How are recipients recognized and awarded? | Each individual Outstanding Staff Award recipient is recognized during our annual Outstanding Staff Awards ceremony, by their area leadership. Recipients are given a trophy and a monetary award of $500. |
PAST WINNERS
Award Winners 2021 | 2021 Virtual Ceremony (September 2021)
Award Winners 2019 | 2019 Virtual Ceremony (October 2020)
For more information, please contact HRevents@usf.edu.