In celebration: A review of employee awards in 2019

As the year draws to a close, let’s take a look back at some of the employee awards and recognition that stood out in 2019.

“I am incredibly proud of the people of the University of Oregon, who work so hard to make our institution outstanding,” said President Michael Schill. “We achieved so much together in 2019, thanks to our dedicated and talented employees. I am grateful for their commitment to excellence.”

Seven faculty members were given the Outstanding Research Award, which celebrates research and scholarly activity. The Fund for Faculty Excellence award, which recognizes excellence in creative accomplishment, education, research and scholarships, was awarded to 15 faculty members. Five interdisciplinary teams were selected for I3 awards to pursue innovative research projects.

A competitive pool of applicants increased the number of Faculty Research Awards to 24 from the typical 20. The awards are intended to stimulate promising research and scholarly activity.

A class of 30 academic and administrative leaders graduated from the first UO Leadership Academy. The Outstanding Employee Award was given to 11 classified staff and officers of administration for excellence on the job. The Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Awards went to two campus advisors who make a positive impact on the student education experience.

Two faculty members who embody the spirit of innovation in teaching were named Williams Fellows, and the Williams Council selected eight instructional proposals that will broaden, restructure and develop classes and curricula to engage students across disciplines.

Seven interdisciplinary research teams received seed grants through the Resilience Initiative seed funding program and will look at issues around sustainability, resilience and climate change. Five research teams were awarded OHSU-UO Collaborative Seed Grant funding, while the funding was extended for other teams in the program.

The UO’s Distinguished Teaching Award was given to 10 faculty members who practice inclusive, engaged and research-led teaching in their classrooms and alongside their colleagues. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards were given to classified staff, faculty members and officers of administration who work towards increasing diversity, equity and inclusion on campus.

Employees were honored at the annual years of service ceremonies for those who had been with the university for five to 35 or more years. More than 400 employees reached milestone work anniversaries in five-year increments.

In June, the university recognized newly promoted and tenured faculty members at a reception and celebrated UO community members who retired during the academic year.

In addition to the UO-based awards and recognition above, campus community members were honored by national and international organizations as well. Below are just some of the awards that appeared on Around the O:

Psychology professor is first from UO named to inventors academy

Oregon academy to honor UO biologist for zebrafish research

His magnetic physics classes attract an honorary doctorate

Inventors group puts UO chemist in first class of senior members

Romance languages professor awarded humanities grant

UO photographer, art professor named Guggenheim fellow

OSU gives Linus Pauling Legacy Award to UO’s Richmond

UO’s Wineland wins inaugural Chinese quantum science award

UO physicist receives a five-year DOE early career award

UO professor wins Imagen Award for short film ‘La Serenata’

UO, OHSU will partner on opioid research with $10M grant

Five UO researchers recognized with prestigious NSF awards