About the Award

The OUE Employee Excellence Award is presented annually to an Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) team, staff member, or an academic professional (acting in an academic support role) that has demonstrated exceptional levels in one or more areas of strategic focus. This award is merit-based, reflecting the employee’s or team’s performance as evaluated by the unit supervisor. It recognizes an individual or team who – consistent with our mission – has been a champion for the Office of Undergraduate Education. This award is given in recognition of high-impact, large-scale efforts.

Qualifications include the following attributes:

• Sees the big picture
• Takes initiative and follows through
• Exhibits a willingness to take on any task necessary to achieve success
• Persists despite obstacles and challenges
• Makes decisions rooted in ethical values including transparency, accountability, and respect
• Distributes effort across multiple OUE departments or units
• Exemplifies the GT Strategic Values

The Honors Program received the OUE Employee Excellence Award for their dedication to student engagement demonstrated by two enormously successful initiatives in the past year. The Jacket Journey program was introduced in August 2024 to inspire student engagement and participation across campus. The program has reached a 51% participation rate, and 3,600 activities completed so far. The Honors Program also hosted the two-day Georgia Collegiate Honors Council (GCHC) student research conference in February with a record number of participants.