Beginning May 15, nominations for the President’s Awards for Employee Excellence will be accepted for four individual and one team award categories to recognize the achievements of staff and faculty at Cornell. Any employee can nominate another or a team, or, with specific documentation, can self-nominate.

This year’s categories:

• The Game Changer Award: Recognizes an employee who developed, implemented or tried a new approach, system or idea.
• The Mission-Possible Award: Recognizes a staff member whose work demonstrates excellence in supporting the university’s core mission areas of learning, discovery and engagement.
• The One Cornell Award: For a team, department or group of employees that implements a project or solves a problem that positively impacts Cornell and the greater community. There is no size limit for group nominations. Please be aware that due to time considerations we may not be able to name each individual in the group at the awards ceremony.
• The Culture of Belonging Award: Recognizes an employee who goes beyond expectations to create and support an open, inclusive, welcoming and equitable workplace environment. This person speaks up as an ally when witnessing unfair treatment and puts diversity and inclusion principles into practice in their everyday work.
• The Thoughtful Leader Award: Recognizes an employee who brings out the best in others and mentors or coaches colleagues with exceptional skill.

Additionally, a special Trustee Award – announced by Mary Opperman, vice president and chief human resources officer, at this year’s Jennie T. Farley Office Professionals Celebration April 24 – will be given to an outstanding nominee from across the categories. The awardee will be chosen by Opperman and Robert S. Harrison ’76, chairman of the Cornell University Board of Trustees.

Awardees will receive recognition points through Cornell’s Appreciation Portal, and all nominees will be invited to a luncheon with Opperman and senior leaders from across campus.

The nomination deadline is expected to be in mid-August, but nominators are encouraged to submit their nominations before summer arrives with its attendant vacations and travel plans.

For more information, see the President’s Awards for Employee Excellence website or – beginning May 15 – log in to the nomination form directly.