Tips on Writing Effective Nominations

How to Begin: 

• Select someone to nominate
• Carefully review the specific award criteria
• Ensure your nominee meets the award criteria

Introduce Your Nominee:

• Include a brief description of your nominee’s typical responsibilities. Provide specific details or an example of how your nominee excelled, served as a mentor, had an impact on the university and its mission.
• Details allow the committee to understand how nominees have had an impact and made a difference.
• Always tie the nomination back to the criteria.

Tell A Story:

• Strong statements make a difference.
• Make your nomination stand out from others.
• Weak statements:
  • “He is always nice and a team player.” 
  • "She is fun to work with!"
• Strong statement:
  • “She uses her institutional knowledge through recent changes in leadership. The director recently retired, so she took it upon herself to learn international work VISA procedures and was able to assist our international students during our department’s leadership transition.”

Details and Accuracy:

• Avoid general statements like, “He is a hard worker or he does a great job”.
• Give details and give examples, so the committee can “see” and “get to know” your nominee.
• Draft the nomination in Word and proofread/edit over time.  The text can then be copied/pasted into the online nomination form.
• Make sure details such as dollar amounts are accurate. 

Supporting Documentation:

• Supporting documentation can be uploaded with your nomination.
• Project descriptions are a good way to illustrate what the nominee has worked on.
• Most current CV that would highlight teaching, research and/or service contributions.

Honoring A Colleague:

• A peer nomination is the greatest way to honor a colleague.

Please contact awards@lehigh.edu with any questions you may have.