2007 Alumni Award Winners with President Robert J. Zimmer. Read about the 2007 Alumni Award Winners.

Alumni Awards

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Each year the University of Chicago's Alumni Board of Governors recognizes alumni who have made notable contributions to society and the University. The Alumni Board also honors emeritus or very senior faculty members who have made contributions to teaching and to the student experience of life on campus through the Norman Maclean Faculty Award.

Do you know of a Chicago alumna/us who deserves an award for professional achievement, service to society, or volunteer work on behalf of the University?

Would you like to honor a special professor who made a difference in your life on campus?

Please review the criteria and eligibility for the awards and make your nomination. Be sure to keep your nomination confidential.

Read about the 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002 Alumni Award Winners.

Alumni Awards Convocation

THE PROCESS
The Alumni Association solicits nominations for the awards from all alumni, former award recipients, and other members of the University community. A committee made up of elected members of the Association's governing board reviews the materials submitted on each candidate and selects those persons whose achievements most closely fit the category for which they have been nominated and who are deemed most deserving of recognition. The committee often invites consulting members to assist in its deliberations.

All deliberations are kept confidential. Those individuals chosen to receive awards are honored each year in a special ceremony.

SUBMITTING YOUR NOMINATION

CONFIDENTIALITY
Please do not inform candidates that they are under consideration since only a limited number of awardees are chosen each year from among many worthy individuals. Please read each of the award descriptions carefully before making your recommendations. A candidate may be nominated for more than one award category, and the selection committee reserves the right to grant an award for which the candidate has not been nominated.

ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for any awards except the Norman Maclean Faculty Award, a candidate must have matriculated at the University and earned credit toward one of its degrees. Alumni who are enrolled at or employed by the University, voting members of the Board of Trustees, and current members of the Association's Board of Governors are not eligible for the Alumni Medal, the Alumni Service Medal, The Public Service Citations, The Alumni Service Citations, or the Professional Achievement Citations. Emeritus or very senior faculty members are eligible for the Norman Maclean Faculty Award, regardless of whether they are Chicago alumni.

NOMINATION AND SUPPORTING LETTERS
Because letters of nomination and support are an integral part of a successful candidate dossier, be sure that you understand the criteria for the award when you write your letters and that all the letters reach the Alumni Association before the deadline date of October 15. Make sure supporters send their letters by the deadline date.

The quality of the information given is more important than the relative prominence of the writer. Possible contacts include professional colleagues and other volunteers, former students, and friends. Letters that comment knowledgeably on the individual's specific achievements are the most important and helpful. Please share the criteria for the award and the suggested list of questions with those who are writing letters in support of your candidate. Nominators and supporters should answer the following general questions in addition to the ones specified for each award category:

You may also include your candidate's curriculum vitae or resume (if available and appropriate) plus factual statements from as many sources as possible and any other information you feel will be relevant to the committee's decision.