Chancellor Gary S. May is launching a new award to recognize long-time staff members who have gone above and beyond.

Nominations are open through Feb. 2 for the Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Awards for Exceptional University Management and Exceptional University Impact. Eligible employees must have worked at UC Davis or UC Davis Health for at least five years and have an appointment of 50% or more. Nominees must be meeting or exceeding performance standards, and nominations must be endorsed by supervisors or department heads.

“Through this nomination process we will discover and celebrate staff members whose remarkable work advances the university’s mission and supports our students, employees, patients and community,” May said in an email to employees today (Jan. 16).

The awards look to highlight staffers for their work in five key areas:

• Adaptation, innovation, efficiency: Demonstrating the “ability to develop new methods and approaches resulting in positive change and new standards of performance”
• Integrity, accountability, trust: Demonstrating a “commitment to uphold the ethical standards of the university and to be unwaveringly fair, honest, transparent and accountable”
• Performance, engagement: Demonstrating “maximum levels of professional competency, reliability, commitment, dependability”
• Kindness, culture: Demonstrating a “commitment to thoughtful, thorough and sensitive actions and communications, paired with a profound capacity to respond to others with humanity and compassion”
• Collaboration/support: Demonstrating an “exceptional ability to effectively and respectfully work within and between groups to manage all points of view”

Nominations should mention actions or events since July 1, 2022. Future iterations of the award will be focused on a single calendar year, organizers said.