Policies & Contracts

1002 - Staff Employee Recognition

Subject: Staff Employee Recognition

Section: U1002

Date: April, 2025

Purpose:

To recognize and honor active benefits-eligible staff employees for their years of service to the University of Chicago.

Policy:

In recognition of their contributions to the University, active benefits-eligible (union and non-union) staff employees are eligible to receive awards for their service at the University of Chicago in five-year increments. The University may modify or discontinue its employee recognition practices at any time, in its sole discretion.

Service Recognition and Ceremony Details:

Service Recognition awards are presented to benefits-eligible (union and non-union) staff employees recognizing years of service as follows:

Service Recognition Table

  1. University Central HR identifies staff employees in the current fiscal year who will reach a service milestone based on their benefits-eligible anniversary date. This information will be communicated and provided to unit administrators annually.
  2. University Central HR rewards points via the UChicago Recognition Hub to employees celebrating service milestones as of July 1, 2024, in increments listed in the table above. Points can be redeemed via the curated Amazon catalogue or UChicago store of branded items. Points must be used before an employee's employment ends. More information can be found here.
  3. The University hosts the annual Alice W. Chandler Staff Recognition Ceremony to honor staff employees who celebrated a service milestone of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and so on in 5-year increments within the current fiscal year.
  4. Units may elect to distribute service pins to employees for milestone service dates. Units interested in ordering service pins for employees should contact Central HR at staffrecognition@uchicago.edu. Orders are placed twice per year and units are responsible for the cost of the pins.
  5. Unless an employee’s service has been bridged, years of benefits-eligible service must be continuous to receive service recognition. [See Policy U205 Re-employment of University Employees.] If a staff employee has a break in service for any period of time, the years worked prior to the break are not eligible for award purposes. 

Related Information:

Policy U205 Re-employment of University Employees

Key Contacts:

Name Email Extension
Center of Expertise – Employee & Labor Relations elrelations@uchicago.edu 4-7345
Center of Expertise – Benefits benefits@uchicago.edu  2-9634