Citations of Excellence and Staff Scholarship

Citations of Excellence and Scholarship Recap and Survey Results

by Zoé Bolesta-Reynolds
September 20, 2023

It is Citations of Excellence and Staff Scholarship season here at UC Davis Staff Assembly!

2023 Citations of Excellence and Scholarship Awards Reception

On Tuesday, September 12, 2023 UC Davis Staff Assembly’s 2023 Citations of Excellence and Scholarship awards program and reception celebrated over 15 staff Award recipients and more than 30 Scholarship recipients at the International Center’s Multi-Purpose Room and Patio. Thanks to the generous support from the Office of the Chancellor, Staff Assembly awarded more than $20,000 to staff members. Three faculty were also recognized.

View the complete list of individual Awards, Scholarships, and recipients.

Citations of Excellence Survey Results

We asked how your department celebrates staff and heard from over 100 staff members. Eight individuals were randomly chosen to receive UC Davis branded swag for their participation!

Poll results are below, out of 100 respondents:

27% - room for improvement
23% - unique departmental programs
16% - lunch/food
14% - STAR Awards and/or On-The-Spot recognition
6% - DEVAR Excellence Awards
6% - National Staff Appreciation Day (e.g National Administrative Professionals Day)
4% - Shout-Outs
4% - Kudos Board

One notable anecdote from a member of Learning and Development Staff:

At our team meetings, we make it a point to acknowledge and celebrate accomplishments. We call this "Bright Spots." Celebrating wins is essential as it allows us to show our gratitude and recognize our team member's hard work and contributions. We celebrate our successes and cultivate a spirit of community and collaboration within our team, impacting how we carry out and interact with the UC Davis/UC Davis Health community. Additionally, we recently ordered team shirts with our logo, which gives us a sense of pride and belonging to our department and the work we do for the university and medical center. Creating a positive work environment and celebrating our team's wins is a great way to promote growth and camaraderie.

Recognition Programs

We appreciate the staff responses and look forward to sharing all of the great ideas with campus partners as we continuously work to improve the staff experience and community on campus. General UC Davis employee recognition programs include (some with eligibility):

Links and inspiration to poll-generated existing staff recognition programs: