Professional News

Staff Senate Seeks Submissions for Outstanding Staff Awards

Photo credit: April Brooks.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 15, 2021) The 12th annual University of Kentucky Outstanding Staff Awards (OSA) ceremony will be held 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, in the Gatton Student Center Ballrooms A and B. Submissions and nominations for recognition are now being accepted.

The Office of the President and the UK Staff Senate sponsor OSA to recognize the professional accomplishments of staff across the university and their work in their colleges, units and departments throughout the year. Individuals who have been designated as outstanding staff of the year in their respective areas will be honored by President Eli Capilouto, Staff Senate Chair Olivia Ellis and others.

If you or someone from your area won an award this year from your college or division, please click here to register for the OSA ceremony by Nov. 12 so that the awardee, their nominator and their supervisor can be invited to attend and be acknowledged at the event.

In addition to the college and division awards, four special Outstanding Staff Awards will be given to staff members across the university to highlight:

  • an outstanding staff member selected from student nominations;
  • an outstanding staff member selected from faculty nominations;
  • an outstanding staff member selected from staff nominations; and
  • an outstanding staff member selected from all nominations.

If you are a student, faculty or staff member and would like to nominate an outstanding staff member for one of the awards listed above, please click here. The nomination deadline is Nov. 12. Finalists for these awards, their nominators and supervisors will be extended an invitation to attend.

For questions regarding the OSA program, please contact Marie Marefat, Staff Senate program coordinator, at Marie.Marefat@uky.edu or 859-257-9242; Catherine Hayden, special events committee chair, at Catherine.Hayden@uky.edu; or Olivia Ellis, Staff Senate chair, at Olivia.Ellis@uky.edu.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.