The Public Service and Outreach Staff Award for Excellence recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a strong work ethic, commitment to service, and exceptional job performance. Our objective is to recognize outstanding effort, encourage workplace creativity and innovation, and celebrate the achievements of Public Service and Outreach (PSO) staff. The Public Service and Outreach Staff Award for Excellence is the most prestigious award offered for staff members, similar to the Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Public Service Faculty.

Benefit eligible staff members employed for a minimum of two continuous years in any public service and outreach unit as well as staff members in University of Georgia schools and colleges who are assigned to an outreach function with a minimum of 51% of their respective duties in outreach. Past award winners are not eligible to be nominated again for a period of five years.

A maximum of three awards may be presented each year. In order to maintain the significance of the Staff Award for Excellence, the PSO selection committee will have discretion to determine how many, if any, awards will be presented in a given year. Each award winner will receive a monetary award, an engraved award, and a personalized certificate, and recognition in appropriate media outlets.

Each PSO unit may submit nominations — Cooperative Extension, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the Small Business Development Center and the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel may submit two nominations and all other units may submit one. All faculty and staff members are invited and encouraged to nominate staff members from PSO units as well as staff based in University of Georgia schools and colleges whose budgeted positions are a minimum of 51% outreach. A standard nomination form will be used. In addition to the standard nomination form, each nomination should include a letter of support from the respective dean/director and a copy of the nominee’s job description. Units may have as many pre-nominees as they wish. The dean/director of each unit will appoint a unit/school/college-level review committee to determine which nomination(s) will be forwarded to the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. A standard rating sheet will be used by each unit-level review committee.

The Vice President for Public Service and Outreach will form a selection committee of Public Service and Outreach faculty members and past award winner(s), chaired by a non-voting member of the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. The selection committee will review the nominations, using a standard rating sheet, and recommend up to three award winners to the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.

A call for nominations will be issued in July of each year. Each unit should set their own internal nomination/review process. Unit nomination(s) will be forwarded to the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach for review by the selection committee by Friday, September 28, 2012. The committee will recommend the award winner(s) by December 1st.

The Public Service and Outreach Staff Awards for Excellence will be presented during the Annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting, along with the Walter Barnard Hill Awards and the Scholarship of Engagement Award.