Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff Redesign Contest

Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff Redesign Contest

The Presidential Award for Outstanding Staff recognizes staff members whose dedication, innovation, and service make a meaningful impact on our university community. As we look to the future of this prestigious recognition, we invite students to help reimagine the physical awards presented to recipients.

Staff Council seeks to recognize the creativity of the RIT student community in reimagining the awards given for the following Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff: 

  • Individual Excellence Award
  • Team Excellence Award
  • Rising Star Award
  • Dancy Duffus Award for Outstanding Citizenship in the RIT Community
  • Albert J. Simone Legacy Award

More information on criteria of each award and what each represents can be found here: https://www.rit.edu/staffcouncil/presidential-awards-outstanding-staff 

We encourage submissions that are creative, professional, and representative of our university's values and mission. 

 

Prize

$100 in Tiger Bucks will be awarded to the design chosen in each category*. E.g. if you submit the same design to all categories and it is selected as the winning design for both Individual and Team Excellence, the winner would receive $200 in Tiger Bucks. 

 

Eligibility

  • Students from any major, program, year, or status (Grad/Undergrad, Full/Parttime) may submit their designs. 
  • Students may submit multiple entries, but all entries must be submitted individually. 
  • Students may work in teams or with faculty/staff support, but only the name submitted on the entry will be eligible for recognition.
  • Students may choose any physical media or method or combination there of that is available on the RIT campus for their design, but designs must be easily reproducible by mold, program, etc. as well as cost effective. Examples include: wood, metal, glass, clay, 3D printing, laser etching, etc.. Questions about material or method allowance can be directed to stafcoun@rit.edu.

 

Design Requirements

Each design must: 

  • Be a minimum of 10 inches in height and suitable for display in an office or professional setting.
  • Contain the award title and year either incorporated in the design, or in space for personalization.
  • Contain a space for the awardee's name through engraving or other means.
  • Be capable of being reproduced to a high degree of similarity for future recipients through currently available manufacturing methods at RIT.
  • Be an original design that does not infringe on copyrighted or trademarked works.
  • Reflect the RIT spirit and/or the spirit of the specific award it represents.
  • Award designs may not incorporate the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
  • Include a cost breakdown to produce the award individually and at scale (i.e. 5, 10, or 15 awards). This cost should include materials, studio or machining rental costs, identified labor, and distinguish one-time (e.g. mold development, stamp creation, etc.) versus recurring (e.g. materials, engraving of name, etc.). Recurring costs should be less than $150 per award.
  • Include a brief narrative (less than 500 words) describing the design, symbolism, influences, connections to university traditions or values, as well as the materials and manufacturing approach you envision. 

 

Submission Requirements

  • All submissions must be made here:  https://www.rit.edu/go/award-redesign-submission-form, submissions made in any other form will not be considered. 
  • All submissions should have 2 separate documents. 
           1) Design Document - including visual representation (e.g. scanned drawing, 3D rendering, photos of prototype, etc.) and Narrative component. PDF, JPG, DOC/DOCX
           2) Budget - include a line by line budget to fabricate the awards including one-time and recurring costs. PDF, XLSX, DOC/DOCX        
  • Students must be available and willing to discuss revisions or answer questions about proposed manufacture. 
  • Incomplete submissions will not be considered
  • All submissions are due November 13th, 2026

 

Please join us to see the selected designs will be unveiled at the Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff on March 30th, 2027 in Ingle Auditorium. 

 

Please note that by submitting a design, participants grant RIT Staff Council the right to use, modify, and reproduce the design for years to come without additional compensation. RIT Staff Council also reserves the right to adapt the winning concept for production. Submission to this contest does not guarantee selection and the committee may choose not to select a winner if no submission meets the requirements.  

 

* All awards, prizes, and/or gifts given by RIT are taxable to the recipient, students, and non-students alike.

For Non-resident aliens: Any awards, prizes, and/or gifts received by a non-resident alien are immediately taxable at 30%.

All non-resident alien prize recipients should contact RIT payroll/accounts payable as soon as possible to make arrangements to pay their tax due upon receipt of the award/prize/gift. A 1042-S document will be issued at year-end to summarize the amount of miscellaneous income that is being reported to the IRS.

For U.S. citizens and/or U.S. resident aliens: Any awards, prizes, and/or gifts received by a U.S. citizen and/or U.S. resident are taxable at TBD%.

All U.S. citizens and/or U.S. resident alien prize recipients will receive a 1099-MISC document from RIT’s payroll/accounts payable, if applicable, at year-end to summarize the amount of miscellaneous income that is being reported to the IRS.