Your Nominations are Needed!
On November 11, 2022, we filled McNamara with alumni, faculty, staff, family, and friends to celebrate this year's Outstanding Alumni Awardees. They represent an impressive cohort of changemakers, leaders, and connectors—all of whom were recognized because they were nominated by someone like you!
Make a difference and help us celebrate our next cohort of awardees by submitting a nomination of your own. All members of the CLA community are invited to complete the form (online or print version) by April 30, 2023. The process takes between 30-45 minutes but the impacts of your nomination could last a lifetime. Thanks for helping us uplift our stellar CLA alumni.
You in this room embody the very best of these skills and capacities. You have fought for justice and helped achieve it, you have given voice and power to those who lack it, and you have worked tirelessly to urge our country to live up to its highest ideals.
Dean John Coleman during this year's Alumni Awards ceremony
Nomination process
All nominees must meet the eligibility criteria for the award. Be sure to verify your nominee’s eligibility before you begin the nomination process:
- Nominees must be graduates of the College of Liberal Arts
- Those nominated for the CLA Alumni of Notable Achievement Award must have graduated over
15 years ago - Those nominated for the CLA Emerging Alumni Award must have graduated in the past 15 years
- A person may receive each award once in their lifetime. A person who has already been honored is not eligible to receive the same award again
- Those nominated must be living (no posthumous nominations)
Need to verify eligibility? Send your nominee's first name, middle initial, last name, former name (if applicable), grad year, and major (if known) to Director of Alumni Experiences Megan Mehl, mmehl@umn.edu.
Self-nominations are welcome, however, all nomination narratives should be written in the third person. When you write the nomination narrative, please include the following information in the following order:
- Award for which the nominee is being considered (Emerging Alumni or Alumni of Notable Achievement)
- Phonetic pronunciation of nominee’s name (Example: Goldstein is pronounced “Gold-steen”, Pelka is pronounced “PELL-kah”)
- Nominee’s job title and employer (and/or volunteer title and organization)
- A brief one-line description of the nominee. (Example for former Minneapolis Institute of Arts Executive Director Evan M. Maurer: “Internationally respected arts leader and advocate”)
Be sure to answer all of the questions in the narrative:
- What do you believe is the single most outstanding achievement that makes this nominee deserving of this award?
- What are the professional and/or civic accomplishments that distinguish this nominee?
- Which of the college’s four core goal areas does the nominee exemplify? Nominees are not required to exemplify all four goals.
- “CLA alumni will be the most desirable graduates available.” Nominee ascended quickly in their profession. Nominee has taken on important responsibilities or serves in a prominent leadership role as a volunteer or public servant.
- “We will have a relentless focus on research and creative excellence.” Nominee created a product, service, or practice that adds value to the lives of customers, constituents, students, or colleagues.
- “Our CLA community will mirror the community at large.” Nominee broadly embraces, celebrates, or exemplifies ethnic, generational, geographic, religious, political, or other diverse characteristics in his/her professional, volunteer, or civic pursuits.
- "CLA will deepen a culture of engagement for our alumni, community, and state.” Nominee builds connections that advance the living standard and prosperity of their communities, the state of Minnesota, the United States of America, and/or the world.
- Are there any other activities or accomplishments that may be pertinent to this nomination?
- Examples of supporting materials include published articles about the nominee’s actions or letters of support from colleagues, community members, beneficiaries of their service or civic endeavors, etc.
- Nomination narratives and accompanying supporting documentation must not exceed seven (7) pages
- All supporting materials must be included with a nomination narrative and this completed form upon submission as one mailed packet or one electronic document
To submit by mail, send nomination forms to:
Megan Mehl, Director of Alumni Experiences
CLA Office of Institutional Advancement
131 Johnston Hall
101 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
- Nominations may be submitted by hard copy using this nomination form
- Forms must be received or postmarked by April 30, 2023
- Nomination narratives and accompanying supporting documentation must not exceed 7 pages
- All supporting materials must be included with a nomination narrative upon submission as one mailed packet
To submit electronically, complete this form by April 30, 2023.
Alumni who are chosen for the awards will be notified by the college and all nominators will be informed of the overall results.
