Employee Engagement
- Career Milestone Awards
- Excellence Awards
- Harriet R. Montgomery Service Excellence Award
- Tiger Spotlight
- Take Our Children to Work Day
- MPLOY
Career Milestone Awards
2025 Career Milestone Awards: Recipient Lists: By Years | By Division | Live Ceremony Livestream | Ceremony Photos
2024 Career Milestone Awards: Ceremony Livestream
The Career Milestone Awards Program is designed to recognize employees for their years of service to the University of Memphis. Staff employees are eligible for recognition beginning with their fifth year of service and faculty beginning with their tenth year of service. Thereafter, recognition occurs in five (5) year increments. Each year, the Department of Human Resources sponsors the Career Milestone Awards Ceremony for all faculty & staff employees where they are recognized for reaching a career milestone in appreciation of their years of service to the UofM. This year we have partnered with the First Horizon Foundation who is generously sponsoring a major portion of the Career Milestone Awards Program.
Excellence Awards
9th Annual Excellence Awards (November 12, 2026): University Center Ballroom | 10am
| Submit a Nomination
8th Annual Excellence Awards (November 11, 2025): Ceremony Photos | Livestream Recording
Presidential Excellence Award
The Presidential Award is the highest award given at the University for staff employees. Honorees are recognized for their lasting impact made at the University while maintaining exemplary performance. Criteria for this award may include one or more of the following:
- Support: Demonstrates above-and-beyond commitment to the support of students, faculty & staff and a successful outcome for every student.
- Stewardship: Demonstrates a high level of care and responsibility for the well-being of the University and its resources for the benefit of our students, faculty and staff.
- Innovation: Possesses leadership abilities, embraces creative initiatives, resulting in a positive impact to the University and the surrounding community.
- Teamwork: Works as a partnership builder while nurturing an environment of camaraderie and collaboration.
The recipient of this award will be selected by the President from the nominations received from the campus community.
A Successful Outcome for Every Student Excellence Award
This award recognizes and honors exceptional staff individuals who embody a successful outcome for every student. The recipient will also be someone who consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to creating a welcoming, supportive, and student-centered environment where every student has the opportunity to succeed. Listed below are some of the recognition criteria to consider:
- Thorough, genuine relationship-building, exceptional service, and a willingness to go above and beyond to make students feel valued, heard, and supported.
- Understand that student success extends beyond academics and actively contribute to the social, personal, and professional development of the students they serve.
- Possess compassion, respect, and professionalism in ensuring that students receive the guidance and resources they need to navigate challenges and reach their goals.
- Increase engagement, improve retention, connect students with resources, support academic achievement, and create a stronger sense of belonging.
- Consistently responds to student needs by improving or creating programs/opportunities to improve outcomes.
The recipient of this award will be selected by a committee of peers from the nominations received from the campus community.
Division Excellence Awards
The Division Excellence Awards recognize a staff employee from each University Division for a variety of exceptional efforts and contributions to the University of Memphis. Primarily, this award honors staff employees who display one or more of the following:
- Consistently performs job responsibilities at a level above and beyond normal expectations.
- Exhibits an exceptional ability to foster collaboration, communication, and cooperation among colleagues and university constituents.
- Exhibits a high degree of personal ethics and integrity.
- Has clearly earned the respect of colleagues.
- Exceptional contributions to their department’s level of service satisfaction.
- Significant contributions to the efficiency of an operation or unit.
- Significant contribution to student success, directly or indirectly.
The recipient of each Division award will be selected by the respective Division Leader from the nominations received from the campus community.
Eligibility:
To be eligible for each of these awards, staff must meet the following criteria:
- Have at least two (2) years of continuous employment at the UofM.
- Not have any documented performance deficiencies on file within the past 24 months.
- Not have been a previous recipient of an Excellence Award within the past 24 months.
- Self-nominations are not accepted.
One individual may be nominated for multiple awards, but a separate nomination must be submitted for each award category. Multiple nominations received for the same employee do not guarantee the individual will be the recipient in a given award category. For additional information, please contact the Department of Human Resources at engagement@memphis.edu.
Please click here to view all previous Excellence Award recipients.
Harriet R. Montgomery Service Excellence Award
The Harriet R. Montgomery Service Excellence Award was established through the University of Memphis Foundation with contributions provided by the generosity of the University community upon Harriet R. Montgomery's retirement in recognition for her many years of service to the University of Memphis. This award recognizes University staff members who consistently demonstrate a commitment to the highest levels of customer service excellence. Each month, the University community has an opportunity to nominate colleagues from a specific division/area of the University. The nomination form, which includes a statement of support, must be submitted to the Department of Human Resources, Employee Relations & Engagement via the online portal by the established deadline.
This award is partially made possible based on the generous sponsorship from International Paper.
Award Eligibility and Selection:
The employee (nominee):
- Must have been employed by the University for a minimum of one (1) year in a staff regular position.
- Consistently maintains a professional and friendly attitude with both internal & external customers.
- Demonstrates that he/she takes time to listen and understand the customers' needs.
- Gives the customer the information he/she needs, not just what the customer asks.
- Is thorough and follows-up with customers in a timely manner.
- May be eligible for this award once every five (5) years.
The monthly recipient will be selected by a committee of peers based on the merits specified on the nomination. Recipients will be awarded with a certificate, a $100 monetary award, and one month of all-access parking on campus.
Please click here to view recipients from this and previous years.
Tiger Spotlight
In support of our continuous efforts to embrace a culture of recognition awareness, this online certificate affords all fellow Tigers the opportunity to "spot" outstanding service throughout the University. Employees may be "spotted" when any of the following characteristics are observed or demonstrated:
- Consistently making a significant and positive impact within their department, by fostering the mission and goals of the University
- Excellence in overall work performance
- Making a personal effort to "go the extra step"
- Consistent commitment in providing expert service to internal and external customers
- Serving as a role model through positive interactions with customers
To "Spot" a U of M employee today, visit this link!
Take Our Children to Work Day
MPLOY
The University of Memphis is proud to partner with the City of Memphis by participating in the city's MPLOY program. For more information about MPLOY, visit this link.
Student Interns Gain Career Skills Through University of Memphis Partnership with MPLOY Program