Sonoma State University

Call for Nominations: Fong & Fetterly Staff Award - Deadline November 30

Monday, November 9, 2026, 5:30pm

TO: Sonoma State Employees
FR: Chandra Holte, Executive HR Advisor 

Campus nominations are now open for the California State University (CSU) Trustee Wenda Fong and Mr. Daniel Fetterly Staff Award, a systemwide Board-level recognition program celebrating the extraordinary contributions of CSU staff. 

This signature award highlights the innovation, equity-centered leadership and transformative impact of staff across all 22 CSU campuses. Sonoma State is proud to participate in this opportunity to recognize and uplift the vital role our staff play in advancing our shared mission. We encourage you to take this opportunity to recognize a colleague or team whose contributions deserve to be celebrated beyond Sonoma State. 

Award Overview
This program includes:

  • Three individual awards of $25,000 each.
  • One team award of $25,000, shared among up to five team members.

Award Categories

  • Affordability Advocate and Driver of Transformative Change – Honors an individual whose efforts have a profound impact on making a CSU education affordable and accessible. 
  • First Generation Belonging and Community – Honors an individual whose work strengthens belonging, access and success for first-generation students by creating programs, services, systems, policies or campus environments that help them thrive.
  • Fostering an Inclusive and Equitable Learning Environment – Honors an individual dedicated themselves to student success while promoting equity and inclusion within the university community. 
  • Trailblazing Team – Honors a team of no more than five individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in advancing student success and the mission of the CSU. 

Best Practices for Nominations
As you consider nominating a colleague or team, please keep the following in mind:

  • Center the spirit of the award, which honors creativity, equity-driven leadership, and transformative solutions.
  • Reflect on staff accomplishments from 2026 that align with the award categories.
  • Provide thoughtful nominations that highlight meaningful contributions and align with CSU systemwide criteria.

Nomination Criteria, Timeline and Process

  • Eligible nominees are current, full-time CSU employees in good standing whose accomplishments occurred after January 1, 2026. This includes represented staff, confidential employees and MPPs. Faculty (Bargaining Unit 3) and student employees (Academic Student Employees and Student Assistants) are not eligible for nomination. 
  • Nominees may work in any area of the university; direct student interaction is not required. 
  • Nominations should describe how the nominee's work ultimately advances student success, access, belonging, affordability or institutional excellence. 
  • Submissions must include feedback or evidence of impact and are limited to five (5) single-spaced pages. Nominators are encouraged to highlight examples that demonstrate the nominee’s unique contributions and excellence. 

A review committee, convened by Human Resources, will evaluate all nominations and advance no more than two nominations per award category to the President for consideration and final submission to the Chancellor’s Office. Award recipients will be honored at the May 2027 CSU Board of Trustees meeting, providing a systemwide opportunity to celebrate staff excellence and leadership.

All nominations must be submitted no later than 9 a.m. Monday, November 30, 2026, using the following form: Trustee Wenda Fong and Mr. Daniel Fetterly Staff Award Nomination Form.

Additional details and the most current systemwide information available can be found here.