Julia Hanigsberg Make Your Mark Staff Award

The Julia Hanigsberg Make Your Mark Staff Award is in recognition of Julia Hanigsberg, former vice-president, administration and finance. This award recognizes up to six individuals and teams who have demonstrated excellence in one of the following areas:

Client service – provides exceptional client service that is professional, client-focused and collaborative beyond the position’s basic responsibility.
Community engagement – creates and maintains opportunities for collaboration and engagement with the surrounding community and/or within TMU’s community that have a positive social, civic, cultural, or environmental impact, and supports values of equity, diversity and inclusion.
Innovation – challenges the status quo with new solutions and applies new ways of thinking that positively transform the campus and community. These solutions may be new systems, technologies, products, programs, or policies that tackle process, social, cultural, civic, or health and safety issues. This person or team is an intrapreneur who looks for a better way of doing their job.
Sustainability – contributes toward an economic, social and/or environmentally sustainable initiative by developing a new solution, engaging people, or collaborating with groups on or off campus.

Individual recipients receive a certificate and a one-time monetary award of $2,000 (subject to applicable deductions). Team recipients (a group of two to 20 individuals) receive individual certificates and a total one-time monetary award of $3,000 (subject to applicable deductions) to be shared equally among members.

Key criteria: Client service; community engagement; innovation; sustainability

Nomination guidelines

Eligibility and obligations

Staff employees (only MAC, CUPE 233 or OPSEU) with at least one year of service as of the nomination deadline, employed on a career or term basis.
TFA members and associate members are not eligible for these awards.
Individuals can only be nominated for one individual award per year; however the Selection Committee may choose to reassign a nomination to a different award category, based on best fit with the criteria.
Nominations are only valid for the year in which they are submitted and must be based on achievements within the past academic year.
Employees who receive this award may not receive the same award for the following two academic years (e.g. 2021-2022 recipients cannot receive the same award until 2024-2025. They are ineligible for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024).

Team nominations:

Teams can be comprised of up to a maximum of 20 individuals.
A nominated team member is defined as someone who has made a significant contribution toward a project or initiative. Preference will be given to project-based and/or cross-disciplinary teams.
Nomination package should clearly demonstrate how each team member has made a significant contribution toward the project or initiative that is being recognized in the nomination.
Submit the nomination under the team lead's name. If there is no team lead, select one team member's name.

Who can submit a nomination?

Faculty, staff or students can submit nominations.

Students should contact the Dean or Senior Director’s Office for assistance in submitting a nomination.
Please contact the award administrator if you have more than one nominator.

Award criteria

The award recognizes extraordinary contributions in one of the following areas:

Award Criteria	Description	Examples
Client Service	Individuals or teams who have consistently demonstrated exceptional client service, and have achieved outstanding results, that had a significant positive impact on the lives of students, staff, faculty and/or other community members. These contributions can focus on one or more of the related examples.	Client focused - listening to and developing and/or providing personal, user-focused service and solutions to TMU clients and community members in an equitable and inclusive manner Highest-quality service - going beyond the baseline responsibility of the position to enhance the client experience through responsive, effective, and timely delivery of services Professional behaviour - demonstrating professionalism, respect and integrity in the delivery of all service Collaborative - working collaboratively with team members or others across the University to handle surprises, adapt to unexpected challenges and resolve problems quickly under time constraints
Community Engagement	Individuals or teams who create and maintain opportunities for collaboration and engagement with the surrounding community or within TMU’s community that have a positive social, civic, cultural, or environmental impact, and supports values of equity, diversity and inclusion. These contributions can focus on one or more of the related examples.	Contributing toward TMU’s role as a city-builder by addressing issues of social, civic, cultural or environmental concern Addressing issues of social or public concern Increasing TMU employees’ civic engagement Building capacity of individuals, groups or organizations in TMU’s community Having a positive impact on the lives and wellbeing of those involved in community partnerships Supporting and demonstrating values of equity, diversity and inclusion
Innovation	Individuals or teams who have challenged the status quo with new solutions and applied new ways of thinking that positively transform the campus and community. These solutions may be new systems, technologies, products, programs, or policies that tackle process, social, cultural, civic, or health and safety issues. This person or team is an intrapreneur who looks for a better way of doing their job. These contributions can focus on one or more of the related examples.	Problem Solving - identifying an ongoing challenge and creating an innovative system, technology, product, program or policy Productivity - creating a solution that reduces time, resources, health and safety risks, and/or costs associated with delivering a service or product Communication - actively sharing new methods, practices or tools with co-workers and other community members to improve work processes Intrapreneur spirit - looking for new ways to perform their job and fostering a culture of innovation by encouraging others to apply new ways of thinking to their jobs at TMU
Sustainability	Individuals or teams who have developed or contributed to an economic, social and/or environmental initiative that supports TMU’s commitment to being a sustainable institution, including efforts that may also have an impact beyond the campus. These contributions can focus on one or more of the related examples.	Innovating by developing a new sustainable solution(s) to effectively overcome an existing challenge and produce positive and measurable results. Engaging people in sustainability and contributing to increased participation and a shift in culture. Collaborating with different groups on or off campus to generate a greater impact on sustainability. Developing a sustainable outcome or result that is replicable or scalable beyond the initial project scope.

Nomination process

Obtain the nominee's permission.
Complete the nomination package as described below.
Submit the nomination package via the Online Nomination Portal on the Recognition website.
Nominee will receive a confirmation email with a link to provide online consent. This step must be completed before the deadline.

Nomination package

Nominations must be submitted under one award category (Client Service, Community Engagement, Innovation or Sustainability). A completed nomination includes:

Citation (100 words maximum) – highlight why the nominee deserves this award and any notable achievements. This citation will be included in related university communications if the nominee or team is selected.
(google doc) Nomination Form (external link) (two pages maximum) - questions detailed on the form
- Completed by the nominator;
- Bullet points are strongly encouraged;
- Please save the completed form as a PDF and upload to portal.
(google doc) Support Form (external link) (one-page maximum) - questions detailed on the form
- Completed by an individual other than the nominator or members of the Executive or Selection Committee;
- Bullet points are strongly encouraged;
- Please save the completed form as a PDF and upload to portal.
Optional: Supporting Materials (three pages maximum) – include description of initiatives, examples of work or results, etc.

Visit Tips for Preparing a Strong Nomination Package for more assistance.

Selection process

The selection committee’s mandate is to select high-quality candidates, whose achievements meet or exceed the award criteria and help advance TMU’s values. Members (or their delegates) include:

Vice-President, Administration and Operations (Co-Chair)
Chief Human Resources Officer (Co-Chair)
Provost and Vice-President, Academic
Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion
Vice-Provost, Students
Assistant Vice-President, University Relations

All nominations are reviewed, with priority consideration given to nominees who have not received a TMU award in the past. The committee also considers a diversity of recipients in making its determinations.

An award will not be given if the committee determines there is no suitable candidate.

Important dates

Nomination deadline: November 5 at noon
Recipient notified by: January 28, 2025
Award presentation: Toronto Met Awards Gala

Contact

Recognition Team
recognition@torontomu.ca

Celebration details

This award is celebrated at the Toronto Met Awards Gala.