Award Descriptions

About the Awards

Student Awards:

Arrowhead Award
The Arrowhead Award is given for exemplary service to a student organization. Each organization or representative may honor up to five individual members of their group per year.

Bulldog Award
The Bulldog Award is awarded to Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate students who have served in co-curricular activities where their exemplary service and leadership qualities has positively affected the University community within the past calendar year. 

Emerging Leader Award
The Emerging Leader Award is given to first-year and sophomore students who has become active in co-curricular activities where their exemplary service and leadership qualities has positively affected the University community within the past calendar year. The students demonstrate outstanding leadership potential that has supported the Core Values of UMD. This person does not necessarily need to hold a formal officer position.

Outstanding Student Organization Award
This award is to be given to the student organization that has displayed outstanding support and growth of its members, as well as demonstrated outstanding service to the University and/or community in the past academic year.

Zenith Award
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary "When you reach the zenith, you're at the top, the pinnacle, the summit, the peak." Thus, the Zenith Award shall be awarded to one or two students who have provided exemplary service of three years or more to student organizations, the University, and the community. It will be awarded to undergraduate students who expect to graduate within one semester following the award or who have graduated one semester preceding the award.
From 1956-2022 the Zenith Award was known as the Sieur du Luth Award.

Faculty/Staff Awards:

Outstanding Academic Advisor
This award will be given to an academic adviser who has gone above and beyond their requirements as an academic adviser at UMD. This person has displayed genuine support and concern for the well-being of the students this person advises.

Outstanding Faculty
The Outstanding Faculty Award will be given to a member(s) of the faculty who has displayed outstanding abilities in the realm of teaching and instruction, calling attention to their contributions to the educational advancement of students, to the UMD community, and the general pursuit of knowledge by all.

Outstanding Staff
The Outstanding Staff Award should be given to any non-student, non-faculty employee of the university (P&A, Civil Service, AFSCME, or Teamsters) who has demonstrated support and concern for the well-being of students and the University.  This individual has gone above and beyond their requirements to aid students.

Outstanding Advisor to a Student Organization
The winner of this award is one who has gone beyond requirements as an adviser to a student organization, and who has displayed a genuine commitment to fostering the growth and development of the student organization in the past academic year.

Sustainability Awards:

The Sustainability Inspiration Awards  
This award acknowledges student, staff, and faculty contributions to sustainability efforts at UMD, including but not limited to: sustainability awareness, education or leadership efforts, energy savings, greenhouse gas reduction, waste minimization, local agriculture and economy, and other resource-saving activities.