UW News

November 4, 2010

Where credit is due: Professional Staff Organization brings out new ProStaff Awards

UW News

The Professional Staff Organization has announced a new award to highlight the good work done by its members on campus. Two of the new ProStaff Awards will be given out twice a year — in fall and spring — and nominations are now open.

“There are staff awards, but they are few and far between. This one is coming out more frequently, it’s peer-reviewed — it’s what staff members think about staff members. It’s a very powerful statement about the impact of professional staff members on campus,” said Anita Rocha, PSO president and data manager for the Center for the Studies in Demography and Ecology.

Rocha said the award was largely the brainchild of Brian Tyl, human resources manager for neurology, psychology and behavioral sciences — and, of course, a professional staff employee himself.

Tyl said he was “intrigued by how the UW works as a whole, thinking of it like a kaleidescope of all these moving parts, but nothing really captures what makes it all happen at the University.”

He said, “If we can highlight one of those moving parts, in the exceptional efforts of professional staff, then maybe we can better know what makes this University so amazing.”

The awards are for professional staff at the Seattle, Bothell or Tacoma campuses or at UW Medicine. Anyone in the UW community may make a nomination.The nominations for the first award are due by Nov. 15, and the winners will be chosen by Dec. 1. You can learn more or make a nomination online here.

The award recognizes and promotes work done by UW professional staff — to promote their contributions to the University and to underscore the organization’s commitment to excellence. More specifically, there are four criteria for the award:


  • Impact: How did the nominee’s actions positively impact co-workers, supervisors, students, faculty, patients or others?
  • UW values: How did the nominee exemplify any one of the UW values of integrity, excellence, diversity, collaboration, innovation or respect?
  • Dissemination of knowledge and resources: How did the nominee’s actions disseminate academic knowledge and/or resources that otherwise would not have been disseminated?
  • Above and beyond: How did the nominee exceed job expectations and achieve results beyond the scope of his/her job?

Each award winner will receive an engraved desk statuette, recognition and treats at a department staff meeting, a letter to his or her supervisor, and a check for $100. (The PSO is not affected by the state freeze on cash awards.)

Nominations for the spring quarter awards will be due on April 15, 2011.

Learn more about the Professional Staff Organization online here.