A Council of University System Sta5 (CUSS) initiative, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents Sta5 Awards represent the highest honor for achievements of staff employees from institutions within the system who demonstrate extraordinary achievements in five non-exempt and five exempt categories.

New award nomination information will be posted here mid-September 2025.

Award Categories

The nominee’s achievements should focus on the impact they have had on their department, institution, and/or campus community within one of five categories

Non-Exempt Award Categories

  • This award highlights exceptional work specific to their position or department, demonstrated by effectiveness in job performance, resulting in significant contributions to their department's goals.

  • Recipients of this award consistently meet/exceed expectations, display a high level of professionalism, and set a benchmark for quality and excellence within their field.

  • This award showcases individuals who have impacted the broader campus community, reaching outside of their department
  • This could include contributions such as: improving the campus environment, fostering cross sectional collaboration, enhancing student life, or initiating successful projects that benefit the campus as a whole.

  • This award recognizes individuals who not only embody admirable qualities and behaviors but also actively engage in formal or informal mentoring.
  • This person should embody the values and standards of the organization, inspire colleagues through their actions and attitude, and positively influence the workplace culture.

  • This award celebrates an individual who demonstrates outstanding collaboration, communication, and support within a team.
  • Recipients are those who go above and beyond to foster a positive work environment, contribute to collective goals, and uplift their peers. They strive in showcasing a commitment to the success of the entire team rather than just personal achievements.

  • This award highlights a staff member who has put forth effort to cultivate an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported, regardless of their position, status, identities, or other personal attributes.
  • Recipients of this award actively promote multicultural understanding, equitable practices, and a sense of belonging emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives in achieving common goals.

Exempt Award Categories

  • This award showcases staff who have demonstrated a track record of specific accomplishments over the course of their time working in the USM.
  • Recipients of this award excel in multiple areas such as, but not limited to: implementing creative approaches to improving processes and/or contribute to the success of the home unit / institution; staff in non-supervisory roles who provide leadership, team building and/or mentoring; staff in supervisory roles who consistently grow their unit / institution by supporting, mentoring, and advocating on behalf of their direct reports.

  • This award recognizes a staff member who has consistently prioritized student success throughout their USM career and has a track record of making a difference and impact in students’ lives.
  • Recipients of this award have consistently led or contributed to programs and initiatives that have positively impacted and/or transformed the student experience.

  • This award celebrates an staff member with a passion for and dedication to a projectand/or cause and specific accomplishments that leverage the outreach and service priorities of the institution/system.
  • Recipients of this award have, throughout their USM career, sustained a collaborative commitment to improving the greater community. The award recognizes contributions in and through their role in the USM rather than as a private citizen.

This award recognizes exemplary staff with innovative ideas or approaches for leveraging existing resources that, when implemented, serve to further the Efficiency and Effectiveness (E&E) Initiative of the University System of Maryland.

In 2015, USM launched E&E 2.0, which aims to enhance student success, continue innovation in teaching and learning, reengineer administrative processes, and reduce costs.

Complete nomination packets in this category must include (somewhere in the application materials): a brief description of the innovation and its potential benefits and magnitude (single institution, multi-institution, system-wide). The recipient may be invited to address the Board of Regents.

  • This award highlights a staff member who has put forth effort to cultivate an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported, regardless of their position, status, identities, or other personal attributes.
  • Recipients of this award actively promote multicultural understanding, equitable practices, and a sense of belonging emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives in achieving common goals.

Each awardee will receive a $2,000 stipend and plaque.

Recipients will be announced in early 2026, with a formal presentation of awards by the Board in the spring.

Nomination Instructions

ELIGIBILITY

Employee must be exempt or nonexempt staff and have been employed at UMB for a minimum of five (5) consecutive years by the time of packet submission this upcoming March. Nominations should be submitted with the nominee's awareness and consent.

For the online nomination form linked on this page, you will also be asked to provide the nominee's six-digit employee ID number, exempt or nonexempt status, and confirm they will have at least five (5) consecutive years of service at UMB as of November 24, 2025. This information helps the Board of Regents Awards committee to screen for eligibility. The online nomination form instructions include a screenshot showing where to locate the six-digit employee ID number. If you need help confirming any of this information, reach out to the Board of Regents Awards committee at dl-boardofregents@umaryland.edu

AWARD APPLICATION MATERIALS

1. Cover Sheet: a nomination cover sheet must be completed and signed. A blank cover sheet may be downloaded here and copied for each nominee. Contact information (email and work phone number) is required.

2. *Nomination Letter: 1000-word maximum, addressed to Board of Regents, State the category for which the staff employee is being nominated; and give testimony of exemplary performance in that category. 

3. *Letters of Recommendation:  Three (3) for non-exempt staff / two (2) for exempt staff, 500 words maximum each discussing what  makes this individual exceptional in the category nominated. Recommendations are welcomed from persons external, as well as internal, to the institution and should include information on how to contact the author. Letters must be in support of the nominee’s activities as they relate to the category for which he/she is/they are being nominated

Signature and contact information (email and work phone number) are required.

*All letters must use twelve (12) point Arial or Times New Roman font and one (1) inch margins. No more than 500 words on one (1) page. Recommendations letters cannot exceed one page, and the Nomination and President’s letter cannot exceed two (2) pages.

4. Position Description (500-word maximum): Must include the purpose of the position and specific job duties listed in detail. Please use the BOR award job description template only (no resumes/CVs). The online nomination form contains. The position description must be signed by the employee’s supervisor. You can find exempt and non-exempt job descriptions on the HR website.

1. Each USM institution sets a deadline for receipt of preliminary submissions (cover sheet, nomination letter, position description, and two (3) reference letters).

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2. Each USM institution selects no more than one applicant in each category and requests support letters from their president. Complete application packets (all materials ncluded in one PDF file per applicant) are submitted by the UMB Staff Senate Board of Regents Awards Committee to CUSS by 12pm on Monday, November 24, 2025.

3. CUSS reviews all applications and submits final recommendations to the Board of Regents. Recipients will be announced in early 2026, with a formal presentation of awards by the Board in the spring. Each awardee will receive a $2,000 stipend and plaque.

4. Direct any questions to the UMB Staff Senate Board of Regents Awards Committee: dl-boardofregents@umaryland.edu>