All active staff employees who are on the regular payroll and are not serving in a senior leadership role are eligible to be nominated for an Excellence Award. Seasonal or intermittent employees are not eligible.

No, these awards are meant to recognize staff accomplishments only.

Yes.

All members of the Brown community are welcome to nominate a colleague for an Excellence Award. Individual self-nominations are not accepted but team nominations may be submitted by a member of a larger team.

Yes.

Nomination Questions

The nomination form includes ample space to outline the accomplishments, including a place to add additional notes. Our selection committee takes great care in reading over 150 nominations each year, so we allow nominators sufficient space in which to write, while being considerate of how many nominations the committee must review.

The Excellence Awards recognize staff accomplishments during the previous fiscal year.

Ideally, the work performed would have been accomplished during the last year. Realistically, however, work and projects overlap those dates. In general, a significant portion of the work should have taken place last year.

A selection committee representing most of the University’s organizational areas reviews and evaluates more than 150 nominations in late November or early December. First, committee members individually select 15 candidates who are outside of the organizational areas they represent. Committee members then meet as a group to review and discuss their top candidates; typically, 15 winners are ultimately selected.

Excellence Award individual recipients will receive a $2,500 after-tax award and will also be recognized at BEAR Day. Team winners will receive an equal share of the $2,500 net award; in the event of a large team, each team member will receive a minimum award of $500. Excellence Award winners will also be invited to a special awards breakfast.

Yes. A Rising Star Excellence Award is most appropriate for individuals who have been at Brown for a minimum of one year and no longer than three years of service.

Yes! Studies indicate that employees find personal recognition more motivational than money. By taking the time to get to know your staff, you will discover how each likes to be recognized. Recognition is most effective if it’s done soon after the accomplishment. Remember, a simple “thank you” for a job well done is always appropriate and will make your employee feel valued.

You might consider a small department celebration to recognize an individual or team accomplishment, either at an all-staff meeting or other departmental gathering. There are also opportunities for spot awards when you catch someone doing something right, peer to peer recognition, and other creative ways to acknowledge excellence in performance. Contact the Talent Development team at talentdevelopment@brown.edu for more information.

That is entirely up to you. However, consulting with your direct reports to proactively manage the nominations from your department ensures that the most deserving staff members are considered for an Excellence Award.

No. A single, well written nomination is all you need. However, you could include a list of all the colleagues who endorse the nomination.

A priority announcement listing the individual and team winners will be published in Today@Brown in December. Nominators of award winners are notified earlier than the Today@Brown announcement and given the opportunity to deliver the good news to the nominee themselves.