About the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award

Nomination form

W hat is the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award?

The Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award was created to honor the life and work of our late colleague and friend, Catherine Louise Rihn Lester. In her 27 years as an administrative information technology professional at The University of Texas at Austin, Cathy worked tirelessly to develop systems that support and advance the University's standards of excellence in education, research, and public service. The award is an unrestricted, one-time cash gift which will be awarded to one or more individuals each year.

W ho is eligible for the award?

Information Technology employees at the University of Texas at Austin whose primary responsibilities include management or development of administrative software systems and solutions are eligible for the award.

W hat are the criteria for winning the award?

Winners of the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award will demonstrate the qualities for which Cathy Lester was known. These qualities include:

Commitment to serve the University and its goals
Breadth and depth of knowledge
Active participation in mentoring and educating others
Partnership with business clients to provide strategic, innovative, and effective technical solutions
Adherence to core principles and best practices
Emphasis on the quality of results

New for 2009, two awards will be presented: the traditional Excellence award, and a Rising Star award for people in the early years of their IT careers who show extraordinary promise.

W ho will determine who receives the award?

The winner of the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award will be determined by an Award Committee. A list of the current Award Committee members can be viewed here.

W ho can nominate candidates for the award?

Any current employee of The University of Texas at Austin can nominate candidates for the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award.

H ow can I nominate someone for the award?

To nominate a colleague for the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award, complete a written nomination form and submit it by the deadline to one of the Award Committee members. The nomination form is available in either MS Word or PDF format.

W ho are the past winners of the award?

Past winners of the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award are listed here.

P lease keep me informed about the award and other events.

To stay informed about the Cathy Lester IT Excellence Memorial Award nomination procedures, deadlines, winners and events, you may subscribe yourself to our group email list. Please go to UT Lists to subscribe yourself through our web page, or