Award Categories

MIT Excellence Award nominees are nominated in one of the categories below. See prior award recipients for examples of award winners in each category.

Bringing Out the Best: Everyday Leadership throughout MIT

This award is for teams and/or individuals who:

  • Develop trust and credibility through open, respectful communication and demonstrating accountability
  • Provide a sense of purpose, vision and mission for their co-workers and/or staff
  • Positively influence others to build consensus in group, departmental or organizational settings
  • Manage and/or champion change effectively through formal or informal leadership
  • Help others develop by investing time and effort in coaching and/or mentoring

Embracing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Maximizing MIT’s Strengths

This award is for teams and/or individuals who:

  • Promote an inclusive workplace
  • Model the importance of cultural sensitivity in the workplace
  • Help MIT engage and retain employees by ensuring all individuals and groups feel valued and respected
  • Support and participate in Institute and local efforts to create a sense of belonging
  • Call attention to unintended or historic bias within existing practices, policies, or systems

Innovative Solutions: Collaborating for Results

This award is for teams and/or individuals who:

  • Embrace change as an opportunity for growth and innovation
  • Create new and sometimes unexpected solutions that are in the best interests of MIT
  • Take a future-oriented approach to short and long-term challenges
  • Participate in collaborative problem-solving, breaking down boundaries and/or creating new relationships to improve the way work gets done

Outstanding Contributor: Working Behind the Scenes

This award is for teams and/or individuals who:

  • Consistently go above and beyond without fanfare
  • Fill in when and wherever needed and always performs at a high level
  • Take initiative to solve problems and improve work situations without being prompted
  • Demonstrate reliability, perseverance and a focus on results
  • Help others by sharing knowledge

Serving Our Community: Providing Consistent and Exceptional Service

This award is for teams and/or individuals who:

  • Takes the initiative to improve the value and efficiency of services provided
  • Maintains a consistently high quality of service
  • Brings a solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving
  • Serves as role models to others through positive and productive relationships

Sustaining MIT: Meeting the Needs of the Present and Future

This award is for teams and/or individuals who:

  • Support the well-being and safety of the MIT community
  • Be proactive in helping the MIT community practice resilience
  • Recognize and support the current needs of MIT’s community, environment, or economy through large and small actions
  • Act as a steward of MIT’s campus and natural resources

Collier Medal 

In honor of Sean Collier's model citizenship that far transcended his work, the Collier Medal will be given to an individual or group that demonstrates one or all of the following:

  • Is an unsung hero whose actions demonstrate belief in the concept of “community” and whose contributions exceed the boundaries of one’s profession
  • Volunteers their time by performing service to colleagues and/or community, and contribute to building bridges across the community
  • Distinguishes themselves by creating an environment where going the extra mile is a way of being, and by reaching for a new standard that helps contribute to successful community outreach
  • Consistently and selflessly performs acts of kindness that contribute to building and connecting the Institute and our community.