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Spotlight on Success: Call for Nominations for the President’s Excellence Awards

The President’s Excellence Awards are the University of Nebraska’s most prestigious awards for teaching, research, innovation, and engagement. They recognize individual faculty as well as academic units and teams whose work has had a significant impact on students, their disciplinary fields, the university, and the state.

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To enhance the visibility of UNO’s own exceptional faculty, we are taking a strategic and intentional approach to nominating and supporting candidates for these awards. Faculty and academic leaders are asked to be proactive in identifying potential nominees for not only system awards but also for campus and disciplinary awards. We want to recognize faculty excellence that contributes to the fulfillment of an engaged metropolitan mission and enhances the reputation of UNO within the NU system.


Awards that Illuminate Excellence

The President's Excellence Awards encompass a range of categories, each honoring specific facets of excellence:

  • Faculty IP Innovation and Commercialization Award (FIPICA): Honors faculty members who have developed and nurtured new intellectual property from concept to licensing/startup business.

  • Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award (ORCA): Honors faculty members who have conducted outstanding research or creative activity of national/international significance.

  • Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (OTICA): Honors faculty members who have developed meritorious and sustained records of excellence in teaching and creativity related to teaching.

  • Innovation, Development, and Engagement Award (IDEA): Honors faculty member who have extended their academic expertise beyond the boundaries of the University in ways that have enriched the broader community.

  • Innovations in Student Success Award (ISSA) (New in 2025): Honors a faculty-led or faculty-involved team effort that has made a unique and significant contribution to improving undergraduate six-year graduation rates. This award honors specific and successful innovations designed to improve retention and graduation rates among students the unit serves in a major, within a school, within a college, or throughout a campus.

  • University-wide Departmental Teaching Award (UDTA): Honors a department/unit that has outstanding esprit de corps in its dedication to the education of students at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional levels.


Nominate, Celebrate, and Elevate

Nominations for the President's Excellence Awards are now open. This is your chance to shine a light on a colleague or department whose work has left a lasting mark on students, the university, and the state. While final nomination materials for the President’s Excellence Awards are not due until Jan. 10, we would like to know who is considering putting forth an application either for themselves or a colleague. Please notify your dean or Candice Batton in Academic Affairs by Nov. 15 if you are considering applying or nominating a colleague for one of the awards. Academic Affairs will then work with potential nominees on portfolio development and consider opportunities for scaffolding award materials.

Help us celebrate the outstanding individuals who elevate our community, drive innovation, and inspire us all. Your nominations shine a light on the exceptional contributions that define our shared mission.