Chancellor's Medal

Each year a student receiving an undergraduate degree is recognized by the Chancellor at the commencement ceremony for their extraordinary achievement as a student at UW Tacoma. The award recognizes an individual who has been a consistent source of inspiration for faculty and fellow students alike, and has overcome significant obstacles in order to complete a degree.

Nominations

Nominations are solicited from campus in March. Faculty, staff, students, and those affiliated with UW Tacoma are eligible to submit nominations.

Nomination guidelines:

• Minimum length of one page and no longer than two pages, single-spaced
• Address the fit between the nominee and the spirit of the award; barriers overcome can include academic, physical, personal, financial, or social constraints
• The nominee must have earned a 3.0 cumulative grade point average or above through winter quarter (if enrolled) and either earned a degree in autumn quarter or have applied to graduate for winter, spring, or summer quarters of the current academic year

Nominations must be submitted to the Chancellor’s Office in person or by email to ltoler2@uw.edu no later than the nomination deadline of Friday, April 2 no later than 5 p.m. **Due to COVID restrictions, if submitting in person contact Joe Lawless at 253-692-5685 to arrange for a time for drop-off. 

The Office of the Registrar will verify that each nominee meets GPA requirements and has either graduated or has a graduation application on file.

Review Committee

The Chancellor’s Office selects the review committee and provides a rubric to assist the committee when reviewing candidates. The committee is provided the nominations that meet the eligibility requirements and nomination guidelines and is given one to two weeks to review the materials before meeting to make recommendations to the Chancellor. The Chancellor selects a medalist from the list of committee recommendations and nomination letters and notifies the medalist of the award.

Recipients