The Greg Gulick Service Excellence Award is awarded annually to two IT professionals at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Greg Gulick Service Excellence Award honors campus IT Professionals who exemplify Greg’s values and commitment to collaboration and servant leadership.
Recipients of the award receive a personal plaque/award, a $500 cash award, and have their name engraved on a plaque that is permanently displayed in the Digital Computer Lab (DCL).
Award nominations for the 2023-2024 academic year are open until April 30, 2024.
Previous Award Winners
2022-2023
- Allison (Al) Payne, Gies College of Business
- Rebecca Wiltfong, Grainger College of Engineering
2021-2022
- Dena Strong, Technology Services
- Michael McKelvey, College of Education
Greg Gulick
Joseph Gregory “Greg” Gulick served in many roles at the University of Illinois, most notably as the interim CIO during the COVID-19 pandemic. After Greg passed away in February 2021, the university created the Greg Gulick Service Excellence Award to honor him and his commitment to Illinois.
Greg nurtured his staff, taking time to stop randomly into their offices and talk about their hobbies, families, and Illini sports. Provost Andreas Cangellaris remembered Greg sharing, “It was the quiet and constant kindness Greg showed to every person in every circumstance on every occasion that earned him such enormous respect and trust.”
UI Chancellor Robert Jones expressed, “Greg was not the kind of person who needed to hear himself talk, but when he spoke, you listened, because you knew he was going to say something quite profound.”
Nominations
You can enter nominations at this link until April 30.
Eligibility
- Nominees must have worked at Illinois a minimum of two years and be a full-time employee (Academic Professional or Civil Service) working in an IT service role. The awardee can come from any level of campus IT service, and eligibility is open to all units.
- Awardees must not be a member of the selection committee.
- Awardees must not have received the award in any of the previous five years.
Nomination Process
- Anyone at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign may submit a name for nomination using the form at Gulick Award 2023-2024 Nominations. Nominators are not required to be a member of the IT community.
- Self-nominations are not permitted.
- Multiple nominations of an individual will not increase their chances of receiving the award
Criteria
Nominees will be assessed on the following criteria. Please provide details and examples.
Greg Gulick was known for reaching across lines and boundaries to develop relationships and work with others.
- How does the nominee work and interact with colleagues in their home unit and across campus, within IT, and other disciplines?
- How has this person invited others across the Illinois community to solve problems and build cross-unit solutions by breaking down artificial barriers to connect people to a common vision?
Leadership can come from all levels of the organization.
- Detail how the nominee exercises leadership and positive influence to help meet the goals and objectives of the University.
- How has this person led by example and been a positive influence?
“Service” is generally defined as “the action of helping or doing work for someone, contributing to the welfare of others…”
- How does the nominee serve others and improve the experience of co-workers through their efforts, and/or improve the experience of our campus community?
- Please provide examples of how the nominee goes “above and beyond” to serve other people.
- How has the nominee advanced new ideas, processes, and/or technology at Illinois?
- What innovation(s) has the nominee brought to their unit/campus, and how what role did this person play?
- Describe how the nominee identified and addressed a specific need in a new way and define the impact(s) in detail.
Greg was known for his positive attitude and commitment to listening to colleagues.
- How does the nominee lift up others and seek positive outcomes?
- Describe how the nominee sets a positive example at work that contributes to the morale and/or success of the community.
- To what degree has the nominee exercised empathy and active listening at work, and how has this person has had an impact on others?