Service and Merit Awards
2025 Service and Merit
As our leadership continues to adapt to changing circumstances, the annual service and merit event will not take place in person as it traditionally has. However, we remain committed to celebrating the incredible contributions of our faculty, staff, and librarians in new ways.
Digital badges will be issued to employees celebrating service anniversaries. Service honorees will receive a separate email notifying them of their anniversaries along with instructions for printing their certificates and sharing their digital badges.
We also will be honoring a member of the community with the Father William J. Dunne Award. We encourage you to nominate a fellow colleague who has demonstrated excellence to USF and the community at large through service, creativity, innovation, and leadership, above and beyond the scope of their regular job duties. Please submit your nomination online by Friday, April 18. Nominees should be non-faculty staff members in good standing with at least three calendar years of continuous service through Jan. 31, 2025.
We look forward to joining the community in celebrating our colleagues with personal acknowledgments when these announcements are shared since we will not be having an in-person event.
We will share the In Memorium video commemorating All Souls Day on Sunday, Nov. 2. More details will be shared as we approach the date.
Annual Awards Ceremony
The University recognizes the achievement of faculty and staff by presenting the USF Service Awards and USF Merit Awards. The Service and Merit Awards ceremony takes place annually in spring.
Nomination Review and Selection Process
An anonymous committee reviews all nominations and selects the award recipients. The committee is composed of an appointed representative from each University division. A Human Resources professional serves as the committee ex-officio (i.e. has no vote). All nominations are kept confidential.
USF Service Awards
Each year, individuals are honored for their number of years of service with the University as they reach each 5-year milestone. For example, individuals receive awards at 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and so on. Individuals to be honored are notified during the spring semester.
NOTE: Years of service are calculated as years of continuous employment with no more than a two-year break in employment. Years of service do not include student employment or temporary employment.
USF Merit Awards
All faculty members, staff members (including Executive Officers), and students can submit nominations for the following USF Merit Awards by clicking on the appropriate links below during the filing period. All nominees must be in good standing and not on a performance improvement plan.
IMPORTANT: USF Merit Awards may only be submitted via the online nomination forms.
| USF Merit Award | Eligibility* | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mission Unity Award | Any full-time USF staff or faculty member with at least three calendar years of continuous service through January 31 of the year of the ceremony, including past individual USF Merit Award honorees | This award honors an individual who has expressed their commitment to the university’s vision, mission, and values by nurturing a diverse, ever-expanding global community beyond the USF Campus. This individual inspires others in the pursuit of equity and excellence, with the belief that we can fashion a more humane and just world. |
| Individual Merit Award | A non-faculty staff member with at least three calendar years of continuous service through January 31, of the year of the ceremony including past individual USF Merit Award honorees | Service, contributions, and/or achievements are above and beyond the scope, responsibilities, and expectations of the position and that have made a significant positive impact on the department/division, the University, or the community. |
| Team Merit Award | A formal or informal team of three or more staff, faculty, and/or students | Collective efforts made a significant contribution to USF and/or the community, above and beyond the scope of their job. |
| Fr. William J. Dunne Award | A non-faculty staff member with at least three calendar years of continuous service through January 31, of the year of the ceremony including past individual USF Merit Award honorees | Demonstrated excellence to USF and the community at large through service, creativity, innovation, and leadership, above and beyond the scope of regular job duties. NOTE: this award may be given to a team at the discretion of the Selection Committee. |
*The following individuals are ineligible to receive a USF Merit Award:
- Executive Officers (President, Provost, Vice Provost, Vice President, General Counsel, Executive Directors of University and members of the Leadership Team)
- Other officers (Chancellor, Executive Assistant to the President, Human Resources staff)
- Academic research teams (ineligible for the Team Merit Award)
- Self-nominations (except for a team member who may nominate his/her team for a Team Merit Award)
- Note: All nominees must be in good standing to be eligible for an award.
Past Recipients
Questions
For questions on the Service and Merit Awards, please email serviceandmerit@usfca.edu.