2024 Award Submission Deadline: Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, by 11:59 p.m. CT
The selection committee for the Gerry & Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award is eager to learn about your nominee and fully understand why you believe your nominee should be recognized. As you develop your nomination, please make note of the following suggestions to assure that you effectively convey complete information about your nominee.
- Write a thorough and well-composed letter.
- Assume the committee knows nothing about your nominee or your nominee’s contributions. Be sure to explain details of their contributions to the community, including what they do, the duration and depth of their commitment(s), and any leadership roles they hold.
- Focus on why your nominee should be recognized.
- Be specific. Avoid vague words and over-arching descriptors that could apply to many people.
- Offer examples and stories that draw out the person behind the contribution, or the impact of the nominee’s contribution on others. Anecdotes are helpful, but only if they go beyond how the nominee has influenced you personally.
- Explain why your nominee stands out relative to others in a comparable group (e.g., other undergraduate student leaders, other tenured faculty, or other young alumni).
- Avoid simply listing all of your honoree’s activities and awards.
- Explain your honoree’s role in each area of contribution – the duration, level of contribution, outcomes of the contribution, etc.
- If your nominee’s contributions relate to their professional responsibilities, explain how they go above and beyond those responsibilities.
- Explain how your nominee’s ethic of service has endured over a period of time. Demonstrate the duration of contributions, commitment, and habit.
- Offer multiple perspectives on your nominee. Consider co-writing your nomination, or including testimonials from others who know your nominee.
A Note to Student Nominators
We welcome and encourage nominations from students, whether you are nominating a peer, a recent graduate, faculty, or staff. This award recognizes 5-7 members of the WU community each year, and since 2004 at least one student has been recognized annually.
Please take the time to write a thorough nomination to help the committee understand your nominee fully. You may choose to collaborate with one or more other nominator(s) to write an even stronger nomination. Past student honorees can tell you how much the award means to them, and it wouldn’t be possible without nominators bringing them forward!