UTCOMLS Staff Recognition Nominations

Committee:

Members of the Faculty and Staff Awards Committee will be appointed by the Dean of College of Medicine and Life Sciences (COMLS) and will be composed of COMLS faculty and staff, with committee membership reviewed on an annual basis. In general, recent award winners will comprise the majority of the committee, with four to six additional faculty and staff that have previous experience with the Awards Committee also being appointed. To minimize conflicts of interest, department chairs and division chiefs will not be appointed to the Awards Committee, unless they are recent award winners. The Awards Committee members will review the nominations, along with supporting information. They will evaluate, rank, and discuss candidates for each award using defined criteria (see below) to determine the winners. Committee members will be excluded (i.e., must not participate or be present) from voting and/or discussions of individual candidates if they have nominated a candidate for an award, written a letter of support for a candidate for an award, or are in the same department or division as one of the candidates for an award.

The chair of the Awards Committee will be the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Affairs and is a voting members of the Awards Committee and will lead the committee discussions. The committee’s work and deliberations are confidential. As such, committee members should not contact anyone outside of the Awards Committee to request additional information about candidates. Any clarifications or additional information must be requested by the chair.

Eligibility:

Full-time and part-time COMLS staff members are eligible for all of the staff awards, with the exception of the Dean's Award for Outstanding Staff Career Achievement, for which only full-time COMLS staff members are eligible.
Retired staff members are not eligible.
Faculty, senior administration and previous staff awardees are not eligible for the same award category.
If sufficient nominations are not received for any category, or if candidates do not meet the requirements, the committee will recommend that no award be given.
Nominations need to be submitted through faculty and/or staff members of the COMLS.

Criteria:

Click on the tabs below to see criteria for each award.

Dean’s Award for Outstanding Staff Career Achievement

A minimum of 15 years of service to the College of Medicine and Life Sciences;
Exceptional contributions to the success of their department and the University over a significant period of time. (This award is for career achievement rather than a single contribution.);
Highly regarded as an outstanding mentor and role model by colleagues; respected by their peers;
Proven ability to enhance morale and demonstrate enthusiasm for and dedication to the UToledo community;
Maintains history of outstanding commitment to service that includes caring and compassionate service to the UToledo community and a passion for excellence;
Takes initiative and exemplifies the core values of the COMLS through their interaction with faculty, staff, residents, students and all of the UToledo community;
Consistently conducts themselves in a professional manner with respect, appreciation and a positive attitude;
Motivates and inspires the people around them to strive for excellence; assists others toward achieving professional goals and achievements.

Previous Awardees:

2019 Elizabeth Akeman
2019 Maureen Gilmore
2020 Holly Burtch
2021 Anita Easterly
2021 Celia Egan
2022 Nikki Russell
2023 Jennifer Gilmore
2024 Diane Durliat
2025 Candace Busdiecker

Dean’s Award for Leadership Staff Excellence

Sustained excellence in overall job performance. Regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty;
Exemplary service in leadership positions (committees or professional organizations, officer roles/membership, etc.);
Exceptional participation in professional development opportunities (attends required training based on position description but also is diligent in seeking additional training or learning new skills to enhance professional work performance);
Demonstrates leadership qualities by effectively managing their staff, service, system or work to achieve results. Creates a culture of excellence for their team;
Demonstrates ability to build and support highly organized teams of individuals;
Outstanding achievement or contribution in creative solutions to problems that resulted in significantly more effective and efficient operations;
Fosters an atmosphere of collaboration and creativity, which contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of productivity;
Leads change or improvements for the benefit of their peers;
Inspires and motivates others to take advantage of opportunities that enhance their professional or personal lives. Provides mentoring and advising to support staff;
Empowers others to achieve results in support of their organization or college’s goals;
Consistently demonstrates a cooperative and positive attitude;
Must have supervisory responsibilities for at least one direct report.

Previous Awardees:

2020 Cristina Alvarado
2021 Katie Himich
2022 Mary Youngs
2023 Ann Murphy
2024 Dagmar Martin
2025 Danielle Dougherty, M.B.A.

Dean’s Award for Support Staff Excellence

Motivates and inspires the people around them to strive for excellence within the UToledo and COMLS community;
Actively works as a team member who focuses on innovation, continuous improvement and ongoing contributions to UToledo and COMLS. Demonstrates independent thinking to reach workable solutions to problems;
Exhibits a positive commitment and loyalty to UToledo and the COMLS community and demonstrates a high ethical standard;
Recognized as an effective staff member by students, colleagues and supervisors and demonstrates excellent work habits;
Consistently exceeds the expectations of the position, performing at a level above and beyond normal job requirements; makes important and significant contributions to their area;
Develops procedures, resources, and utilizes good time management to improve the effectiveness of the department and overall operation of UToledo and COMLS;
Makes serving others their priority - is caring, compassionate, and responsive to everyone. Displays a positive attitude and genuine interest in the people with whom he/she works as well as internal and external customers;
Must NOT have supervisory responsibilities for any direct reports.

Previous Awardees:

2019 Wafaa Hanna
2019 Elizabeth Smotherman
2020 Chris Prevette
2021 Lisa Johnston
2022 Lauren Hadeed
2023 Kari Neifer
2024 Linda Ellis
2025 Amy Blevins

Dean’s Award for Staff Impact

A minimum of 3 years of service to the College of Medicine and Life Sciences;
Demonstrates good character through conduct within the department and in the community;
Champions volunteerism and service within the University going above and beyond by taking on additional challenges;
Volunteers for initiatives providing service to others within the university community and beyond;
Work outcome results in meaningful positive impact in communities in Northwest Ohio and beyond;
Creates, develops, and participates in unique, high impact volunteer initiatives or programs which help foster goodwill for UToledo and COMLS;
Promotes improvement of direct departmental culture, service or responsibilities through collaborative teamwork within The University of Toledo and community;
Collaborates across units and finds solutions to make the workplace better for us all.

Previous Awardees:

2020 Jessica Faber
2021 Deborah Krohn
2022 Tyrone Layson
2022 Blair Mell
2023 Tiffany Lopez
2024 Lori LeGendre
2025 Kristin Roberts Hoffman, M.Ed.

Dean’s Award for Humanism

Eligibility:

Full-time or part-time faculty members are eligible.
Full-time or part-time administrative staff are eligible.
Retired faculty members are not eligible.
Previous awardees are not eligible for the same award category.
If sufficient nominations are not received for any category, or if candidates do not meet the requirements, the committee will recommend that no award be given.
Nominations need to be submitted through COMLS Faculty members which includes our faculty colleagues at ProMedica, AHEC, and community sites.

Criteria:

A faculty or administrative staff member who exemplifies the principles of humanism and professionalism in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences campus.
An individual who compassionately inspires co-workers while executing high ideals in the practice of leadership.
An individual who defines emotional intelligence, particularly self-awareness and self-regulation.
An individual who effectively models the tenets of empathy, intellectual diversity, and motivation.
An individual who altruistically and uniformly places people above themselves.
An individual who possesses the passion to drive professionalism throughout the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
An individual who consistently demonstrates compassion, respect, sensitivity and empathy in all aspects of the delivery of care to patients (for clinical faculty or staff).

Previous Awardees:

New award, no awardees to date.

Awards:

These awards will be presented at the COMLS Dean's Faculty and Staff Recognition Reception and the COMLS Dean’s Faculty and Staff Awards Meeting.
Photographs of each recipient will be displayed on a plaque in the lobby of Mulford Library for approximately one year.

Nominations:

Any faculty or staff member of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences can make nominations. Students, student groups and residents are encouraged to participate in the nominating process by providing supporting information. All nominations must be made through a COMLS faculty and/or staff member, which includes our faculty colleagues at ProMedica and AHEC sites.
For each nomination, an updated résumé and a maximum 250-word recommendation (maximum 300-word recommendation for Humanism Award) MUST be submitted through the online form below. Updated résumés should be obtained from department supervisors.
Although not required, a maximum of 10 pages of supporting letters/information may be submitted.
If your nominee is selected as a candidate for this award, you may be contacted to introduce your nominee at the Awards ceremony.
Nominations from more than one source strengthen the case for the candidates. However, the number of nominations is not, in itself, a sufficient criterion for receiving the award.

Nominating Process:

Notifications from the COMLS Dean to solicit nominations are emailed to all faculty and staff members in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences followed by email reminders.
Nominations are accepted via web form below.
The submission deadline is final. No exceptions.
All nominations are confidential. Staff members should NOT be notified of their nominations.
The COMLS Dean’s Office will arrange for the selection committee to meet in a timely fashion prior to the Faculty and Staff Recognition Reception and have all nominations and supporting materials available for the committee to review in advance of the meeting.
The Awards Committee Chair will present the Committee’s recommendations to the COMLS Dean, in writing, immediately after the voting is completed.
Recipients and their supervisors will be notified by the COMLS Dean’s Office.

College of Medicine and Life Sciences