President’s Awards for Staff

UBC presents the President’s Service Awards for Excellence and the President’s Staff Awards annually to recognize staff who demonstrate outstanding achievement and excellence within the UBC community.

2024 Nominations

Thank you for your nominations.

The call for nominations for the 2024 President’s Awards for Staff is now closed.

The deadline to submit nominations was 4pm on Friday, March 22, 2024.  

Nominators will be notified of the results in late summer or early fall 2024. We appreciate your patience during this time. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us at workplace.recognition@ubc.ca.

About the Awards

The President’s Service Awards for Excellence (PSAE) were created in 1991 and is awarded to employees for their outstanding contributions to the university. With the growth of the university over the years, including the addition of the Okanagan campus, the UBC Vancouver President’s Staff Awards and the UBC Okanagan Staff Awards of Excellence were created to celebrate a wider range of accomplishments.

Although the staff awards are associated with campus locations, every UBC staff member is eligible for one award or the other based on their work location.

For example, staff who are part of the Southern Medical Program are considered part of the Okanagan campus – and therefore eligible to be nominated for the UBC Okanagan Staff Awards of Excellence. Staff who work at remote sites such as the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, the Dairy Education and Research Centre, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Robson Square, and hospital sites in the Vancouver Fraser, Northern, and Island medical programs are considered part of the Vancouver campus – and therefore eligible to be nominated for the UBC Vancouver President’s Staff Awards.

President’s Service Awards for Excellence 

The President’s Service Award for Excellence (PSAE) is the top award presented to UBC staff in recognition of excellence in personal achievements and contributions to UBC and to the vision and goals of the University. Nominations may be submitted by UBC students, faculty and staff. 

Criteria

• Excel in their area of work and in personal achievements 
• Excel in their work over and above their job description 
• Improve the value, efficiency, inclusivity/equity, and sustainability of the services they provide by building respectful environments to enhance inclusion and in particular the experiences of systematically underrepresented and marginalized communities 
• Maintain a consistently high quality of service to their clients (students, faculty, etc.) and embraced UBC’s values of excellence, integrity, respect, academic freedom, and accountability 
• Display commitment creating an inclusive, vibrant and welcoming community at UBC, and/or community enhancement in service to another community, and/or service to underrepresented communities in which they also belong 
• Exemplify positive contributions to UBC and its communities through personal volunteerism, positioning UBC as an engaged local and global partner 
• Make outstanding contributions to UBC, or to the advancement of UBC’s strategic priorities 

Eligibility 

• All University staff with at least 5 continuous years of service are eligible for the awards, with the exception of Vice-Presidents, Associate Vice-Presidents or the equivalent. 
• Only individuals may be nominated for the PSAE. 
• Must be actively employed at the time of the award presentation.

Announcement of Recipients 

• Up to five awards may be given in one year. 
• Each recipient receives a medal and $5,000. 

Recipient Selection 

The recipients will be selected by the President, with the support of an advisory committee. 

 

President’s Staff Awards (Vancouver campus) 

The President’s Staff Awards honour exceptional contribution in specific areas that are important to UBC, as outlined in the categories below. Contribution may have been for a specific project or initiative. Nominations may be submitted by UBC students, faculty and staff. 

Eligibility 

• All permanent UBC Vancouver campus staff with a minimum of two years of continuous service are eligible. 
• Must be actively employed at the time of the award presentation.
• Individuals may be nominated only in the following categories: Leadership, Enhancing the UBC Experience, Creativity and Innovation, Advancing Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence, and Wellbeing.
• Groups (i.e. two of more staff) may be nominated only in the Collaborative Excellence category. 
• A staff member can receive both the PSAE and the PSA, but not in the same year. 

Award Categories 

There are six categories of President’s Staff Awards: 

• Leadership 
• Enhancing the UBC Experience
• Creativity and Innovation 
• Advancing Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence 
• Wellbeing
• Collaborative Excellence

For award criteria, please refer to the nomination package.

Announcement of Recipients 

• There can be up to 12 award recipients (two per category) per year. 
• Each award recipient/group receives $2,000. 

Recipient Selection 

The recipients will be selected by the President, with the support of an advisory committee. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: February 16, 2024

Who can submit nominations?  

Any student, faculty, or staff member can submit nominations for either the President’s Service Awards for Excellence or the President’s Staff Awards. Please check the eligibility criteria for each of the awards above.  

Nominations must be submitted by someone other than the nominee; i.e. staff are not able to self-nominate.

 

Can I nominate someone that I’ve already previously nominated?  

Yes, you can nominate previous nominees again. Nominees can only be selected for an award category once; however, they can be nominated for other award categories.  

For example, if a person previously received the President’s Awards for Staff for Leadership, they are still eligible for the President’s Service Awards for Excellence or any of the other categories for the President’s Awards for Staff.

 

Can I resubmit a nomination from a previous year if my nominee was not selected? 

Yes, you can submit a nomination again, but only one year after it was originally submitted. Review and update the responses to reflect this year’s nomination package and the nominee’s current role and most recent achievements. 

Please be sure that the person(s) who wrote the letter of support is aware and agrees to the letter being submitted again.

 

Can someone be nominated for multiple awards in the same year?  

No, a nominee may only be nominated for one award category by the nominator in a given year.

 

Can a group of people write one letter of support? 

Yes, multiple people can sign one letter of support. This is often the case when a few people are supporting the same details in the letter (i.e., they have a similar relationship to the nominee), or they have written the letter together.

 

When will the award recipients be announced? 

The recipients are typically announced in late summer/early fall. Nominators will be contacted regardless of whether their nominees were selected for this year.

 

If you have any further questions, please contact workplace.recognition@ubc.ca.