Pinnacle Awards at UT Southwestern

UT Southwestern’s strength is rooted in its people – individuals who embody our core values of excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. The annual UT Southwestern Pinnacle Awards recognize and celebrate staff who exemplify these characteristics.

This year’s nominations are now closed. Thank you for submitting nominations for colleagues who exemplify the quality and accomplishments these awards seek to celebrate.

2026 Awards

Distinguished Service Award

The award honors an outstanding individual who has built a distinguished track record of success throughout their career at UTSW by consistently going above and beyond to further our mission to educate, discover, and heal by living out the UT Southwestern core values in their everyday work.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or Administrative and Professional (A&P) employee with a minimum of 10 years of UT Southwestern service.

Spirit of UT Southwestern Award

Recognizes an employee who serves as a role model and brand ambassador for UT Southwestern through their loyalty, advocacy, service, mentorship, enthusiasm, and camaraderie, both within the UTSW internal community and beyond.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of five years of UT Southwestern service.

Pinnacle Award for Excellence

Recognizes an employee who most contributes to UT Southwestern’s commitment to the highest standards of clinical excellence, educational distinction, research integrity, or administrative quality in all they do. They are unequivocal in their commitment to ongoing improvement through a project or initiative that has a positive and significant impact on their function, department, or the institution overall.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

Pinnacle Award for Innovation

Recognizes an employee or team who created or contributed to development of a new technology, scientific discovery, launched or improved products or services, simplified complex tasks and processes, or creatively solved problems in service of our mission.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

Pinnacle Award for Teamwork

Recognizes a team that embodies the spirit of collaboration by integrating different perspectives to achieve a common goal. This award honors those who look beyond their own functions to gather input from stakeholders, ensuring that integrity and excellence are at the forefront of every process improvement and service delivered.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P UT Southwestern employees. May be a team within the same reporting structure or a cross-functional work group. To ensure an objective perspective, nominations must be submitted by an individual outside of the nominated team.

Pinnacle Award for Compassion

Recognizes an employee who embodies the values of UT Southwestern and has gone above and beyond to foster an environment of exemplary service in which internal colleagues or patients are treated with respect, dignity, and kindness in every encounter, every day.

Award Eligibility Criteria: Full-time or part-time Classified or A&P employee with a minimum of two years of UT Southwestern service.

Contact Us

Please contact Suzanne J. Farmer, Ph.D., or Talent Development team by hr@utsouthwestern.edu.