Professional News

Time to Submit Your UK Outstanding Staff Awards Nominations

photo of Hilary Glen receiving award from President Capilouto
Outstanding Staff of the Year award winner Hilary Glen with UK President Eli Capilouto. Photo credit: Staff Senator April Brooks.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 21, 2020) The 2020 Outstanding Staff Awards (OSA) will go on at the University of Kentucky despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but the presentation will look a bit different this year. Winners will be recognized throughout the UK Appreciation-Wellness series hosted by UK Staff Senate Oct. 5-9.

All nominations for the awards need to be in by the deadline of Monday, Sept. 28.

The Office of the President and the UK Staff Senate sponsor OSA to recognize the professional accomplishments of staff members across the university. Two types of recognitions are observed — one for staff members who have already been honored by their college or unit and the other for one staff member each to be recognized by faculty, students and staff for unparalleled excellence.

If you or someone from your area won an award this year from your college or division, please click here to register.  This includes individuals who have already been designated as outstanding staff of the year in their respective areas. This is another opportunity for those who have won awards in their departments to be recognized on the university level. 

In addition, three special awards will be given to staff members. First, a staff member will be recognized by faculty; second, a staff member will be recognized by students; and finally, a staff member will be awarded by the staff themselves. If you would like to nominate a staff member for an award, please click here.

Details honoring these staff members will be sent out after the nomination deadline. For questions regarding the OSA program or nomination process, please contact Caitlin DiBiasie, program coordinator at Caitlin.Dibiasie@uky.edu or Jon Gent, Staff Senate chair, at Jon.Gent@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.