Dean's Distinction

• Individual Dean's Distinction: A staff member can be nominated for Individual Dean's Distinction for their outstanding citizenship, collaboration, and exceptional contribution in 2023 in support of the teaching and research mission. 
   
• Team Dean's Distinction: Teams consisting of up to eight (and in some cases up to twelve*) staff members can be nominated for Team Dean's Distinction for their exceptional work, and for their outstanding collaboration and contribution in 2023. 

*Please note, the maximum number of staff members that can be nominated for Team Dean’s Distinction is eight. However, exceptions can be made for up to twelve people if the circumstances call for it. If the team you are nominating has more than eight people, please explain why the team has additional members. 

When considering a staff member or team of staff members to nominate for 2024 Dean’s Distinction, please keep the following guiding principles in mind: 

• Cultivating a strong sense of community and connection in the FAS.   
• Creating a humane and supportive work environment.   
• Exceeding regular responsibilities and expectations (going above and beyond, even in the course of doing one’s regular job). 
• Fostering diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging.   
• Collaborating with the University’s best interest and mission in mind.   
• Demonstrating ingenuity and creativity in their roles. 

When writing your nomination, it can be helpful to identify how an individual or team exemplified one or more of these principles in their work over the last year. When submitting your nomination, you will be asked which guiding principle(s) are best reflected in your nomination.

Eligible FAS staff members for 2024 Dean’s Distinction are:

• Benefits-eligible, full-time or part-time staff 
• Non-HUCTW and HUCTW staff 
• Hired into an FAS benefits-eligible position on or before 1/1/2023 
• Job grade levels: 
  • 47 through 60 for Individual Dean's Distinction 
  • 47 through 64 for Team Dean's Distinction 
• Less than Half Time (LHT) staff may be nominated as a member of a team (but not as an individual) 

Please note: While previous Dean's Distinction nominees (from any year) are eligible to be nominated again this year, recipients of Individual Dean’s Distinction in 2019-2023 are not eligible to be nominated, unless they are being nominated for Team Dean's Distinction. Harvard retirees, temps, faculty members, and students are not eligible. 

Our Dean’s Distinction recipients should be reflective of our diverse FAS staff. At the FAS, we are intentional about creating a community where diversity, inclusion, and belonging can thrive. We should look to reflect this same intentionality in our recognition of talented staff. Also please consider union staff members when determining potential nominees:

Please keep this information in mind when considering potential nominees. Also, please also be aware how unconscious bias can affect your initial thinking about nominees and try to consider nominees who may not have initially come to mind. Additional resources on unconscious bias are available in the Tools and Resources section below.

Similarly, please strongly consider individuals who have demonstrated excellence in creating and maintaining an environment where DEIB can thrive, as this makes the FAS more prepared to serve our mission of excellence in teaching and research. 

• Nominees from all grade levels should be considered. This is an excellent opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of support staff from across the FAS.
   
• When describing the nominated staff member's/team's accomplishments in 2023, please explain why this individual or team meets the criteria for Dean’s Distinction.
   
• Since the nomination form does not allow you to “save” your work, we suggest that you write your nomination narrative in a separate Word document, and then copy and paste the text into the online nomination form. Nomination narratives should be between 500 and 2,500 characters in length, including spaces.
   
• After completing the nomination form, click "Submit" and you will see a confirmation notice.

Please see below for the general timeline of 2024 Dean's Distinction nominations, selections, and celebration. You can also view the timeline as a PDF.

Resources for Dean's Distinction

• 2024 Dean's Distinction Nomination Form Preview (Note: all nominations must be submitted via the online form)
• 2024 Dean's Distinction FAQs
• Complete List of All Previous Dean's Distinction Recipients (2010-2023). Individual recipients from 2019-2023 are not eligible unless they're part of a team.
• 2024 Dean's Distinction Timeline
• Nominations Examples for the Guiding Principles

Resources About Unconscious Bias

• How unconscious bias affects us deeply
• Podcast on understanding biases with a transcription 
• Course on Unconscious Bias via LinkedIn Learning

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Annie McGough (amcgough@fas.harvard.edu) or hr_programs@fas.harvard.edu.