Witmer Award for Distinguished Service
President’s Staff Awards
2025 recipients of the Presidents Staff Awards
Celebrate individuals and teams whose innovative leadership, dedication, and sustained contributions have had a positive impact on the University of Rochester and the community.
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President’s Staff Award summary
| Awards | Scope | Eligibility | Award |
| Witmer Award for Distinguished Service | Recognizes outstanding career contributions of staff who exemplify UR values in their daily work through clinical, research, or service endeavors. | Full-time, part-time staff with minimum of 5 years of service. |
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| Meliora | Encourages ever-better performance through recognition of excellence for positive contributions and attributes in specific areas such as service enhancement, process improvement, cost reduction, etc., for an outstanding achievement in the preceding few years. |
Full-time, part-time staff. Individuals or teams |
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| Staff Community Service | Recognizes outstanding volunteer contributions to the University of Rochester community or another non-profit in the greater Rochester community. Can recognize a singular outstanding event or continuous outstanding and dedicated service. | Full-time or part-time nonmanagement staff with minimum of 1 year of service. |
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| Lamar Riley Murphy Leadership Award | Recognizes an exemplary role model of innovative, proactive leadership impacting their immediate department, division, or the University community as a whole. | Full-time, part-time staff. |
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Presidents Staff Award nomination process
Witmer Award for Distinguished Service
Provides recognition to a select number of staff members for careers characterized by outstanding and sustained contributions to the University.
Nominees should demonstrate excellence in the following areas:
- Enhancing the quality of work life in ways that make a significant difference for colleagues or constituents.
- Providing outstanding and ongoing excellence in services to faculty, staff, students and other constituents.
- Developing creative solutions to problems that result in significantly more effective and efficient department or University operations.
- Demonstrating unusual dedication to the Universitys mission and values.
- Contributing to the Universitys positive image in the community.
Nominees must be full- or part-time active staff from any division with a minimum of five years of continuous service at the University. Faculty and students are not eligible for this award. Previous recipients of the Witmer Award are ineligible for nomination.
Contact Joan Vezelis at (585) 276-0408or emailawards-recognition@rochester.edufor questions regarding eligibility.
The recipients will be given a permanent, one-time increase in base salary of $1,500 and the University will waive the cost of their employee parking permits for one year. Additionally, honorees’ names and headshot photos will be displayed on digital screens in prominent locations throughout the Medical Center and Wallis Hall.
Nominations may be submitted or supported by current 做厙勛圖 faculty and staff, students, teams, or groups with the exception of members of the Witmer and Meliora Awards Selection Committee.
Award recipients will be selected by the Witmer, Meliora, and Murphy Awards Selection Committee and announced in the spring.
Nominations are due by no later than March 23, 2026. Please be sure that ALL information is complete.
The following is part of the nomination form:
- A nominating statement of no more than three pages (12 point font or larger) must accompany the nomination form explaining how the nominee satisfies the award criteria. Please be specific, providing concrete examples.
- Exactly three letters of support (each no more than one page in length and 12 point font or larger) from those who have been directly affected by this nominees work performance and dedication. One of the supporting letters must be from the individuals direct supervisor unless the supervisor is submitting the nomination. Letters need to be specific and detailed to ensure full understanding of the nominees accomplishments.
Meliora Award
The 做厙勛圖 Meliora Award recognizes a select number of staff members whose work performance and dedication during the preceding few years exemplify the Universitys motto,Meliora ever better. We hold ourselves accountable to these values in the design of our programs, the development and delivery of our services, the evaluation of performance, and the ways in which we interact as a community. These shared values are:Meliora, Equity, Leadership, Integrity, Openness, Respect, and Accountability*. Awards may celebrate individual achievements or those of a team.
*For Medical Center employees, the ICARE values fully align with and also demonstrateMeliora in Action.
Nominees should have demonstrated their commitment to the Meliora Values during the preceding few years through:
- Excellence in overall job performance that includes at least one major improvement to an individual department, program, unit, or the University as a whole (for example, service enhancement, significant process improvement, cost reduction or avoidance, etc.).
- Initiative, innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity.
- Service to constituents that consistently exceeds expectations.
- Contributions to an environment characterized by collaboration, cooperation, tolerance and mutual respect.
Nominees must be full- or part-time active staff from any division of the University. Nominations may be submitted for individual staff members or teams of staff members. A team member may not nominate his or her own team. Faculty and students are not eligible for this award.
Contact Joan Vezelis at (585) 276-0408or emailawards-recognition@rochester.edufor questions regarding eligibility.
Individual Meliora Award recipients will receive a $1,000 cash prize and the University will waive the cost of their employee parking permits for one year. Team Meliora Award recipients will receive $3,000 to be used to support their teams work. Additionally, honorees’ names and headshot photos will be displayed on digital screens in prominent locations throughout the Medical Center and Wallis Hall.
Nominations may be submitted or supported by current 做厙勛圖 faculty, staff, students, teams, or groups with the exception of members of the Witmer, Meliora, and Murphy Awards Selection Committee.
Award recipients will be selected by theWitmer, Meliora, and Murphy Awards Selection Committee and announced in the spring.
For each individual or team nomination, please submit a nomination online by no later than March 23, 2026,containing the following items. Please be sure that ALL information is complete.
- A nominating statement of no more than three pages (12 point font or larger) explaining how the individual or team nominee satisfies the award criteria. Please be specific, providing concrete examples.
- Exactly three letters of support (each no more than one page in length and 12 point font or larger) from those who have been directly affected by this individual or team nominees innovation or service. For individual nominations, one letter of support must be from the nominees direct supervisor unless the supervisor is the nominator.
Staff Community Service Award
The Staff Community Service Award was established by President Joel Seligman in December 2007 to honor a University non-management staff member whose career best exemplifies service to the University of Rochester or the Greater Rochester community and that occurred in a capacity outside of their usual assignment.
The first award was presented posthumously to Latasha E. Shaw, a 15-year University employee and an active member of the Service Employees International Union, whose life and service inspired its creation.
The Staff Community Service Award (SCSA) is awarded annually to a non-management staff person in recognition of their outstanding volunteer contributions to the University of Rochester community (in a capacity other than their usual assignment/department) or another non-profit organization in the greater Rochester community.
Nominations are accepted to recognize the achievement of a singular outstanding event or the continuous outstanding and dedicated service the individual has provided over a long period of time.
All active full- and part-time 做厙勛圖 staff, other than supervisory and management personnel, with a minimum of one year of service may be nominated. Nominations may recognize:
- Long-serving high achievement for a local not-for-profit community organization, neighborhood group or association, or the University community.
- A record of significant and sustained community service such as volunteering with charitable, nonprofit organizations, or within the University community.
- A nominee who has demonstrated any of the following:
- Leading the charge in order to initiate a community project or University initiative outside of their usual assignment.
- Serving as an inspiration to others through his or her persistent excellence either at the University (in a capacity other than their usual assignment) or in the general community.
- Providing assistance to a local nonprofit community or University project that had a positive impact on individuals.
Contact Joan Vezelis at (585) 276-0408or emailawards-recognition@rochester.edufor questions regarding eligibility.
A cash award of $2,500 will be shared by the recipient ($1,500) and the not-for-profit organization ($1,000) that the recipient has volunteered with to provide the service. In addition, the University will waive the cost of their employee parking permit for one year.
Additionally, honorees’ names and headshot photos will be displayed on digital screens in prominent locations throughout the Medical Center and Wallis Hall.
Nominations may be submitted or supported by current 做厙勛圖 faculty, staff, students, teams, or groups with the exception of members of the Staff Community Service Award Selection Committee.
For each nominee, please submit all of the information on the nomination form below by no later than March 23, 2026,泭勳紳釵梭喝餃勳紳眶:
- A nominating statement of no more than three pages explaining how the nominee satisfies the award criteria. Please be specific, providing concrete examples.
- A letter of support (no more than one page) from a representative of the organization that has been directly affected by this nominees service.
Lamar Riley Murphy Leadership Award
Provides recognition to an individual who is an exemplary role model, demonstrating innovative, proactive leadership impacting their immediate department, division, or the University community as a whole.
Nominees should demonstrate excellence and creativity in innovation in approach, and scale of impact across our University in addition to the following criteria:
- Acts as an excellent role model to staff, peers, and students; models the MELIORA values.
- Inspires others to work collaboratively and creatively to achieve positive results.
- Demonstrates initiative and innovation in approach.
- Promotes a work environment that is respectful and supportive; demonstrating a commitment to supporting a welcoming and inclusive culture.
- Courageous commitment to servant leadership; staying actively involved in the coaching, mentoring and development of others.
- Demonstrates an ability to effectively communicate issues, ideas and solutions to key stakeholders.
- Leads an effective team that achieves positive results.
- Fosters a sense of commitment and pride in the University.
Nominees must be full-or part-time active staff from any division who demonstrate leadership qualities. Faculty and students are not eligible for this award.
Contact Joan Vezelis at (585) 276-0408or emailawards-recognition@rochester.edufor questions regarding eligibility.
Recipients will receive a $1,000 cash prize and the University will waive the cost of their employee parking permits for one year. Additionally, honorees’ names and headshot photos will be displayed on digital screens in prominent locations throughout the Medical Center and Wallis Hall.
Nominations may be submitted or supported by current 做厙勛圖 faculty and staff, students, teams, or groups with the exception of members of the Witmer, Meliora, and Murphy Awards Selection Committee.
Award recipients will be selected by the Witmer, Meliora, and Murphy Awards Selection Committee and announced in the spring.
For each nominee, please submit an online nomination form by no later than March 23, 2026,containing the following items. Please be sure that ALL information is complete.
- A nominating statement of no more than three pages (12 point font or larger) must accompany the nomination form explaining how the nominee satisfies the award criteria. Please be specific, providing concrete examples.
- Exactly three letters of support (each no more than one page in length and 12 point font or larger) from those who have been directly affected by this nominees work performance and dedication. One of the supporting letters must be from the individuals direct supervisor unless the supervisor is submitting the nomination.
- Nominations must include feedback from direct reports and/or peers. Where applicable, department survey information will be considered (employee, patient, customer).
- Letters need to be specific and detailed to ensure full understanding of the nominees accomplishments.