February 13, 2024

Dear Campus Community,

Each spring, UM employees are invited to recognize colleagues who demonstrate exceptional dedication to UM, our students and employees, and the greater Missoula community by nominating them for a Week of Excellence Employee Award. We encourage you to submit nominations by the award deadline of noon, Monday, April 8.

This year you will notice that the nomination requirements for many of these awards have been simplified to make submitting nominations easier. I also am delighted to share that one popular award, the Outstanding Service to the Campus Community Award, will transition to a year-round award following Week of Excellence so that more people can receive it. This new award will be presented at regular intervals throughout the year and we will be sharing more information about this new recurring award, called the Might of Montana Award, in May.

We look forward to recognizing all UM employees, in addition to our award winners, new retirees and those achieving longevity milestones, at the Week of Excellence Employee Celebration Breakfast on Wednesday, May 1 in the UC Ballroom. The event will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., with the program starting at 9 a.m. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us. This will be part of UM's 2024 Week of Excellence April 29-May 3, which celebrates UM students and employees.

February also marks the anniversary of the University of Montana's chartering by the Montana Legislature in 1893 "to provide...young men and women, on equal terms, a liberal education and thorough knowledge of the different branches of literature, science and the arts." Since its humble roots in 1893, UM has grown into the magnificent institution it is today thanks to the dedicated efforts of its employees. With this in mind, I can think of no better time to recognize our fellow employees for a job well done.

Best wishes,

Seth