Call for Nominations: President's Excellence Awards

Dear Colleagues,

Together, we are continuing the important work of strengthening and evolving our university to meet the needs of the future. As we move forward, it’s important to pause and recognize the remarkable work taking place every day across our campuses. The University of Nebraska System’s President’s Excellence Awards offer an opportunity to celebrate the dedication, innovation and impact of our colleagues across the system.

These awards are the highest form of recognition to celebrate success in the classroom, the laboratory and in our campus and broader communities—from research and creative activity to teaching and student outcomes.

Nominations are now open for the President’s Excellence Awards, and I encourage you to take this opportunity to nominate a colleague or department that exemplifies the best work taking place across our campuses today.

Individual winners are awarded $10,000 each, a presidential medallion and an engraved plaque. The departmental or team winner receives $25,000 to support its instructional mission. All winners, who are chosen by panels of their peers, will be honored at the summer Board of Regents meeting in 2026.

Nomination criteria and instructions are available on the President’s Excellence Awards webpage. All nominations are due by January 9, 2026.

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

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

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

• Innovation, Development and Engagement Award (IDEA): Honors members of the University of Nebraska faculty 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): Honors a faculty-led 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 at the University of Nebraska which has outstanding esprit de corps in its dedication to the education of students at the undergraduate, graduate or professional levels.

A culture of excellence is deeply embedded in the University of Nebraska’s legacy, and we celebrate that culture with these awards. The work done by faculty and staff is critical to our future success. I hope you will join us in our Odyssey to the Extraordinary as we lift up the accomplishments of our colleagues and friends.

With gratitude,

Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D.

President, University of Nebraska System