Carnegie Mellon University

Award Categories

Through the Andy Awards, Carnegie Mellon recognizes staff achievement in six different categories: Commitment to Excellence, Commitment to Students, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Innovative and Creative Contributions, Spirit, and Teamwork and Collaboration.

Please note that only teams are eligible for the Teamwork and Collaboration award.

This award honors CMU staff members who take great pride in producing excellent work. They serve their customers with a steadfast commitment to quality performance. Nominees have an upbeat attitude and are consistently willing to invest considerable time and effort to overcome obstacles so that outstanding work might be delivered.

Criteria:

  • Consistently performs above and beyond the responsibilities of their job description
  • Regularly delivers exceptional work products
  • Realizes accomplishments that exceed goals and requirements
  • Takes timely, independent and proactive steps to prevent operational problems in their unit
  • Acts to align goals with the strategic direction of their work unit and the university
  • Less than three years of experience at Carnegie Mellon University (Rookie)
  • Greater than three years of experience at Carnegie Mellon University (Veteran)

This award honors a staff member who demonstrates dedication and continuing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and cultural competency in the workplace.

Criteria:

  • Demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing their own awareness, knowledge and skills related to diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Creates and nurtures a welcoming environment
  • Raises awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion within the context of the university’s mission and for the greater good of CMU and the broader community
  • Promotes resources and tools related to diversity, equity and inclusion to enhance the variety of student, staff, and faculty experiences at CMU
  • Makes impactful changes within the CMU community related to diversity, equity and inclusion
This award honors staff members who are dedicated to guiding and assisting students. They surpass the duties of their job description to meet students' needs, serving as role models who display a positive and professional image at all times.

Criteria

  • Invests extra effort in satisfying student needs and expectations
  • Identifies and leverages opportunities that support students' academic, personal, social and cultural needs
  • Contributes to student learning, demonstrating exemplary initiative in offering students a personally and/or intellectually rewarding curricular and/or extracurricular learning experience
  • Involves students in campus life beyond the classroom to emphasize their value as members of the university community
  • Creates an inclusive student environment that embraces diversity and mutual respect
  • Develops innovative systems and processes that enhance significantly the student experience
This award honors staff members who have developed new approaches, methods and processes to improve organizational effectiveness. They have demonstrated imagination and creativity in solving problems or fostering change that has benefited the university community. These nominees are expansive thinkers and effectual doers.

Criteria

  • Makes significant and positive contributions to achieving organizational objectives
  • Recognizes opportunities to improve, streamline or reinvent processes, methods, systems or services and implements those changes
  • Creates a work environment that encourages others to embrace change and creativity
  • Adapts best practices to their work unit
This award honors staff members who enhance campus life with their enthusiasm, dedication to the university community and commitment to exceptional service. These individuals embody the university's values of growth and excellence. They foster an inclusive, collaborative and welcoming workplace that transcends organizational and professional boundaries through positive and constructive approaches.

Criteria

  • Respects, values and encourages each individual's contributions
  • Leads by example in providing exceptional service to the university community
  • Creates a work climate that fosters diversity, inclusion and cooperation
  • Inspires university and civic engagement in others

The team category is open to any group of two or more people, either in a shared department or interdisciplinary unit/taskforce, who have worked together toward a common goal.

This award honors staff teams who exemplify collaboration and cooperation with colleagues, students and the university community and recognizes its transformative impact. The team has developed new approaches, methods and systems to improve organizational effectiveness or has improved the student experience and/or students' learning opportunities. It has demonstrated imagination and creativity in solving problems or fostering change that benefits the university community.

We will award Teamwork and Collaboration awards in two categories: Standing Teams and Special Projects Teams. Standing Teams represent the culture of ongoing teamwork and collaboration for which we strive, whereas Special Project Teams come together temporarily to achieve something extraordinary.

Criteria

  • Works effectively and above expectations to accomplish a task or meet a goal that makes a positive and recognizable difference in the university community
  • Demonstrates exceptional service, promotes the university's mission to students and/or the university community, achieves institutional goals/priorities, achieves significant monetary savings or improves efficiency and productivity
  • Builds successful collaborative relationships across different groups and considers multiple perspectives to define and solve problems or reach agreements on a course of action
  • Creates an environment that promotes communication, trust, cooperation and respect for differences
  • Places the team's goals above the members' individual goals while achieving a distinct result or product