Alumni Awards criteria and guidelines

• Must be a graduate of the University of Leicester
• Nominees must have made a significant impact in their field or to society, and ideally will have received formal recognition from their peers and/or the community. Successes may include but are not limited to research excellence and impact, leadership and innovation in industry or enterprise, or achievements in the arts and humanities.

• Must be a graduate of the University of Leicester
• This award recognises outstanding public service. Nominees will have made a positive impact regionally, nationally or internationally through community work, fundraising or volunteering.

• Must be a graduate of the University of Leicester
• This award recognises exceptional recent achievements by an alum. Ideally nominees will have accomplished these achievements in the past twelve months, but this can be expanded out to a maximum of the past three years.

• Must be a current or recent student of the University of Leicester and due to graduate in January 2026 or July 2026
• This award recognises an individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment and success in raising the profile of the University and/or improving the experience of other members within the University community. This may include:
  • Fundraising for the University or a student group
  • Mentoring other students on a voluntary basis
  • Volunteering at key University events such as Open Days
  • Undertaking research above and beyond what is expected as part of their degree and has had a positive impact on the University and wider community.

• Must be a graduate of the University of Leicester
• This award recognises a sustained achievement over a long career. Nominees will have a lifetime of outstanding contributions and achievement in one or more fields of endeavour, will be recognised within their community or field as a strong leader and will be an exemplary role model.

• Must be a graduate of the University of Leicester
• This award recognises exceptional dedication to volunteering. Nominees will have made a positive impact regionally, nationally or internationally through volunteering linked to the University.

• Must be a graduate of the University of Leicester
• This award recognises the exceptional philanthropic support a graduate has given to the University. Nominees must have demonstrated a sustained track record as philanthropic champions for the University, devoting their efforts to furthering the University’s philanthropic fundraising goals.

Unless stated otherwise in the awards criteria, the following conditions must be met by all award nominees:

• Nominees must have graduated from the University of Leicester, having completed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. Honorary graduates will not be eligible unless they have completed a separate undergraduate or postgraduate degree at the University of Leicester.
• Current members of the Alumni Association Committee and Advancement staff are not be eligible for nomination for any award.

Winners of awards from the most recent Alumni Awards Dinner are not eligible for nomination for any award the following year, but may be considered for a different award in subsequent years. Unsuccessful finalists may be nominated for the same or a different award for next Alumni Awards Dinner.

Award winners cannot win the same award more than once; this applies even if an award changes name over time. For example, past winners of the Alumnus of the Year Award are not eligible for nomination for the current equivalent award, the Outstanding Achievement Award.

Nominations for the awards listed below are made externally by students, staff, alumni and members of the general public. These nominations are collated by the Alumni and Supporter Relations Team and considered by the Alumni Association Sub-Committee.

• Outstanding Achievement Award
• Dr Mark Sims Memorial Award for Public Service
• Future Leader Award

Nominations for the Alumni Association Graduating Student of the Year Award are also collated by the Alumni and Supporter Relations Team, and considered by the Alumni Association Awards Sub-Committee. This award is open to internal nominations only.

Nominations for the awards listed below are made internally by University staff. These nominations are collated and considered by the Advancement Awards Sub-Committee.

• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Mary Attenborough Volunteer of the Year Award
• Rhoda Bennett Philanthropy Award

Sponsors of the Alumni Awards Dinner do not have a role in considering nominations for any awards, nor do they contribute to the selection of the finalists or winners. However, sponsors may be invited to present an award to an award winner at the Alumni Awards Dinner.

Two shortlisting panels are created to consider nominations for the Alumni Awards; one panel is made up of members of the Alumni Association Committee and the other panel is made up of Advancement staff. Members of either panel are asked to declare any conflicts of interest before consideration of nominations begins.

For the award nominations considered by the Alumni Association Awards Sub-Committee, the scoring system outlined below will be used:

• Each member of the panel will judge nominations for each award category based on how well they meet the specific criteria of that award, and rank them numerically, with 1 being considered the 'best fit' for the criteria.
• Following this, the scores assigned by each member of the panel for nominees in each award category will be added together
• For each award category, the three nominations with the highest scores will be shortlisted as finalists for that award category. Of the three, the nominee with the highest score will be considered the winner of the award.
• If two or more nominees have equal scores for a particular Alumni Award, the decision of selecting an overall winner and/or finalists will be made by the Chair of the Alumni Association Awards Sub-Committee.

For the award nominations considered by the Advancement Awards Sub-Committee, a discussion for each nomination will take place as a panel, to jointly decide a winner for each applicable award category.

Generally, three nominees will be shortlisted for all awards, with the exception of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Rhoda Bennett Philanthropy Award, for which there will be only one overall winner. However, the shortlisting panel have the right to shortlist fewer or more candidates at their discretion if they deem it necessary to do so.

If a suitable candidate is not identified for an award, then there will be no winner presented at the Alumni Awards Dinner for that award category.

Once the finalists for the Alumni Awards are determined, they will be notified as soon as possible. The overall winner of each Alumni Award will not be announced prior to the Alumni Awards Dinner, except where there are no finalists and only one winner for a particular award category. The Advancement team reserve the right to contact finalists in advance of the Alumni Awards Dinner to confirm their availability and attendance.

The decision of the judges is final. No communication will be entered into with any person in relation to any decision by the judges.

At their discretion, the Award Sub-Committees may make additional commendations within the scope of the Alumni Awards in the case of more than one outstanding candidate in any category.