This year sees 13 Staff Award winners across six categories. Four further individuals and two teams have also been highly commended for their contribution to Lancaster.

Paul Boustead, Chair of the Awards Panels, said: “The success of our University relies on our people, and this is particularly true right now.

These past ten months have pushed us all beyond what we could have thought was possible, and in many ways, you all deserve recognition for your efforts. Every member of staff has contributed to Lancaster’s excellence and resilience, despite the hardships of the pandemic.

However, whilst it might not feel like it, some aspects of university life continue in a close-to-normal way. Staff are still making strides in research and teaching, contributing to an environmentally-sustainable institution which leaves an impression on the international stage. The Staff Awards are an important way of recognising those staff who have made contributions towards our long-term shared goals, beyond what could have been imagined.

A lot of hard work and consideration has been put in to identifying and choosing the recipients of these awards. As I am sure you know, the pandemic has made everything more complicated, including this process. Staff have moved roles, or been placed on furlough, causing a delay in making today’s announcement. However, we thought it was crucial to see out a careful process to identify our award winners, no matter the time it took.

So, we can say with confidence that this year's Staff Award winners have all made impressive contributions to our University, and done so during a turbulent time. They deserve recognition today.”

The winners will be invited to a celebration event to be held later this year, subject to COVID-19 restrictions.

Plans for the 2021 Staff Awards are being made, with consideration being given to an award which would acknowledge the extra-ordinary contribution of staff towards the University’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Keep an eye on the Staff Intranet later this term for more.

And the 2020 winners are…

Apprentice of the Year

Winner:

• Lucy Wilson, Physics

Highly commended:

• Helen Crowther, Careers and Employability Services
• Naseem Aktar, Chemistry

Outstanding Contribution Award

Winners:

• John Couzins, ISS – Technical Infrastructure Group
• Amy Gibbons, Faculty of Science and Technology
• The Confucius Institute team
• Finance/ISS New Payment Platform team

Highly commended:

• Lorna Harrison, Bowland College

Pilkington Teaching Award

Winners:

• Allan Rennie, Engineering
• Stanley Blue & Katy Thomas (team)

Research Impact Award

Winners:

• Joe Finney, Computing and Communications
• The CREST team

Highly Commended:

• Judit Kormos, Linguistics and English Language
• Peter Diggle & Emanuele Giorgi (team)

Environmental Sustainability Award:

Winner:

• Darren Axe, Students’ Union

International Impact Award:

Winners:

• Joanne Fitzpatrick, Library
• Kirk Semple, Lancaster Environment Centre
• Exec MBA & Digital Education Unit team, Management School

Highly Commended:

• Sociology Internationalisation team

Join us in congratulating this year’s Staff Award winners!