The School of Engineering Infinite Mile Awards
The MIT School of Engineering’s Infinite Mile Awards were launched in 2001 to recognize and reward members of the School’s administrative staff, support staff, service staff, sponsored research staff, and, when appropriate, faculty and academic staff. The awards supplement, rather than replace, other existing reward mechanisms at the Institute, and they are separate and distinct from base pay.
The Infinite Mile Awards support the Institute’s and School’s objectives for excellence. The awards are presented in three categories at an annual ceremony each spring. The categories and criteria are:
- Excellence: Successful nominees are individuals or teams of individuals (generally no more than five people) whose work is of the highest quality. They stand out because of their high level of commitment and because of the enormous energy and enthusiasm they bring to their work.
- Diversity and Community: Nominees for this award promote diversity and harmony in the workplace by taking positive steps to promote cross-cultural sensitivity and a strong sense of community. This individual creates or helps to create a welcoming and supportive environment in which all are encouraged to excel.
- Institutional Cooperation: Nominees for these awards welcome and make the most of opportunities to collaborate across units. They may have contributed successfully to cross-functional efforts. They embrace the needs and values of the Institute as a whole and are generous with their time and their knowledge.
The Ellen J. Mandigo Award
This award, established in 2009, recognizes staff who have demonstrated, over an extended period of time, the qualities Ms. Mandingo valued and possessed in great abundance during her long career at MIT: intelligence, skill, hard work, and dedication to the Institute.
Nomination Procedures
Members of the SoE are invited to submit nominations to the head of the unit in which the person they wish to nominate is appointed. Unit heads will decide whom from their respective units to nominate. We encourage every unit to nominate at least one one person or team. Larger units may nominate up to three people. We especially encourage units that have not previously participated in the IMA program to consider nominating people.
Individuals who have won IMAs in the past are eligible to receive awards (though the nomination should, of course, be based on the individual’s recent contributions). Unit heads may want to consider nominating past team award winners for individual IMAs. Please see list of previous IMA recipients here.
Staff are encouraged to check with the AO in the relevant DLC headquarters regarding their deadline for community input to the nomination process. If you wish to suggest someone for an IMA but are not sure which unit head would coordinate the nomination, please contact Eileen Ng in the Dean’s Office.
All nominations are due to Eileen Ng on Monday, April 8.
This year’s IMA celebration will be held on Wednesday, May 22 from 3:00-5:00PM in the Grier Room (34-401).
Selection Committee
The members of the 2012 Infinite Mile Award selection committee:
Cynthia Barnhart, Associate Dean of Engineering
Eileen Ng, Assistant Dean for Finance and Human Resources
Donna Savicki, Assistant Dean for Administration
Ralph Scala, Assistant Dean for Resource Development
