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Now, more than ever, it’s important to appreciate our colleagues. That’s why we’re launching a new University-wide You Rock! Award, to acknowledge the great talent and dedication of our faculty and staff.

The spark for the You Rock! Program was ignited by our colleagues in the Morgridge College of Education (MCE)—including faculty members Tara Raines, Ellen Miller-Brown and Devaditra (“Tanya”) Talapatra; and former staff member Sean Montoya (UCol ’19). MCE’s program was based on values of the college and it has been very well received. Now, we are extending it across campus. Ultimately, we want this to be one of many initiatives that reinforce appreciation and kindness throughout the ���app community. If you would like to know more about the history and the intention behind this initiative, read this ���app newsroom article for more details, and to read about a few other rock stars responsible for taking this program University-wide.��

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I marvel over how much we have done in such a short time. We have taken our entire academic enterprise online. And we’ve continued to serve our students with tech support, health and counseling, advising, social engagement and more. We’ve kept our campus clean and safe, and transitioned all of our basic functions to work-from-home and digital delivery.��

How is this possible?��

Because we have nearly 4,500 extremely dedicated employees—faculty and staff—who care deeply about ���app and our values.

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Now, thanks to a special team that created the You Rock! Awards, you can .��

Have you seen someone go out of their way to help a fellow employee or a student who is struggling? Or maybe someone who is doing more than expected in their job, in order to save time or other resources in the long run? The smallest things can make a big difference.

When you see something worthy of appreciation, I hope you will take a moment to . Tell us what you notice and how the person is making a difference. We’ll share the news with the campus, and send the winners ���app swag, event tickets, or other tokens of our appreciation.