Established in 2022, the Exemplary U of T Ambassador (EUTA) Awards recognize outstanding service by librarians and staff at any level of the University. The EUTA Awards are an institutional program that celebrates staff and librarians who have furthered the strategic priorities of their unit, department, faculty, or division, and made a significant, positive impact on the University.
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Individual Nominee Assessment Criteria
Nominations should illustrate the specific contribution(s) that an individual has made to the University in one or more of the following areas. These contribution(s) must have supported the strategic priorities of the individual’s unit, department, faculty, or division and made a demonstrable impact upon the institution more broadly. Accomplishments can be recent or demonstrated throughout the course of the individual’s career.
- Collaborates and acts as a team player
- Leads or supports initiatives that improve the quality of the U of T experience for students, faculty, librarians, and / or staff within a department, faculty, or division
- Acts as a creative problem-solver at a local level
- Demonstrates a client-oriented approach to their work
- Demonstrates initiative in developing skills
- Exhibits a ‘True Blue Attitude’ with actions and behaviour that help foster an inclusive working & learning environment
- Intentionally advances and integrates the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion into their work
Team Assessment Criteria
Team nominations should illustrate the specific contribution(s) that team members have collectively made to the University in one or more of the following areas. These contribution(s) must have supported the strategic priorities of the team’s unit, department, faculty, or division and made a demonstrable impact upon the institution more broadly. Accomplishments can be recent or demonstrated throughout the course of their time as a team.
Team members:
- Work collaboratively and may participate in cross-divisional teams
- Lead or participate in an initiative(s) that improves the quality of the U of T experience for students, faculty, librarians, and / or staff within a department, faculty, or division
- Are creative problem-solvers
- Demonstrate a client-oriented approach to their work
- Demonstrate initiative in problem-solving
- Exhibit a ‘True Blue Attitude’ with actions and behaviours that help create inclusive working and learning environments and / or
- Support or foster an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment
Only individuals who have been directly involved in the team’s success should be included in the team nomination.
Eligibility
Any employee or supervisor can nominate a librarian or staff member for a EUTA Award. Self-nominations are not accepted, nor can nominators include themselves as a member of a team nomination.
Individual librarians or staff members are only eligible to receive an Individual EUTA Award once in their career. However, they can be nominated to receive the Team EUTA Award in multiple years. Individuals nominated for a Team EUTA Award may have previously received an Individual EUTA Award.
Nominees for an Individual EUTA Award must:
- Be one of the following: Advancement Professional, Confidential Staff, Professional & Managerial Staff; Research Associate / Senior Research Associate, Librarian, Unionized administrative (non-academic) staff, or a Casual employee,
- Be in good standing and be in active status at the University at the time nominations close, and
- Have worked at U of T for three years or more by the nomination deadline.
Nominees for a Team or Group EUTA Award can consist of:
- Advancement Professionals, Confidential Staff, Professional & Managerial Staff, Research Associate / Senior Research Associates, Librarians, Unionized administrative (non-academic) staff, or Casual employees, and
- All team / group members must be in good standing and be in active status at the University at the time nominations close.
- Team nominations can be made for any group of two to a maximum of thirty individuals and will be considered one nomination, not as a nomination for each individual.
The 2022 EUTA Awards will consider the nominee(s) efforts and accomplishments until May 31, 2022.
The Nominations Process:
Nominations for the 2022 EUTA Awards opened on June 8, 2022.
Nominations should describe in detail the specific contribution(s) that an individual or team / group has made in relation to one or more of the assessment criteria listed above.
A complete nomination package for the EUTA Awards consists of the following:
- A cover letter from the lead nominator providing the rationale for nomination and a description of the nominee(s) contribution(s),
- Two letters of support from colleagues / peers. Please note:
- A letter of support signed by multiple individuals counts as one letter towards the total.
- If the lead nominator is not the nominee(s) manager or supervisor, one supporting letter must be from the nominee’s manager or supervisor (or higher).
- A brief description of your nominee that could be used for publishing online should the nomination be successful; not more than two paragraphs in length.
- Letters should not exceed two pages in length each.
Please do not submit more than the required number of documents and supporting letters. The selection committee will not consider supplementary documents as part of the nomination package.
Submission Guidelines
Nomination Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9, 2022.
Please submit nomination packages electronically through the True Blue Recognition Platform.
A button for the EUTA Awards will appear when “Nominate” is selected under the “Recognize” header.
Please upload the nomination letter and supporting letters using the online form and enter the brief description of your nominee in the appropriate text field.
Should you require assistance with your submission, please contact the Recognition & Engagement Team at thanks@utoronto.ca.
Tips for Completing the Nomination Form
In completing the nomination submission, please:
- Be specific by giving examples and the details of what your nominee has done that meets the selection criteria.
- Be intentional in how you frame your nomination. Not every nominee will demonstrate achievements in all award criteria. Use your nomination to intentionally identify the criteria where your nominee has made a demonstrable impact and provide evidence to support your nomination.
- Avoid general statements such as: “the nominee has a pleasant personality,” “the nominee is a seasoned professional,” or “the nominee is always helpful” in your submission.
- Include as much qualitative and quantitative information as you can about the nominee’s work and contributions.
- Avoid the use of uncommon or undefined acronyms in the description of your nominee’s work and contributions.
Please see our guide How to Write an Impactful Award Nomination for additional details.
Adjudication:
1. Advisory Committee: conducts initial screening of all the nominations and selects nominations to be reviewed by the EUTA Award Executive Committee
2. Executive Committee: reviews the pre-assessed nominations and approves the final selection of recipients.
The Advisory & Executive Committees will meet in Fall 2022 to select the EUTA Award recipients.
Award Prizing
Individual Winners:
Each individual winning nominee shall receive:
- A EUTA Award Certificate and
- 2,500 True Blue Points redeemable for prizes on the True Blue Recognition Platform
Team Winners:
Each member of a winning team shall receive:
- A EUTA Award Certificate and
- 1,500 True Blue Points redeemable for prizes on the True Blue Recognition Platform
Individuals can be nominated and recognized for more than one accomplishment per year. However, only one prize will be awarded annually. When a difference in the value of the prize occurs, the individual will receive the greater value of the two.
Further Information
Please contact the Employee Recognition and Engagement Team if you have questions about the program or need assistance developing or submitting your nomination.