CU’s Jefferson Award winners: Contributing on campus and in communities
Faculty, staff, student honorees exemplify the best in service, leadership
Three members of the University of Colorado community have been named recipients of the 2016 Thomas Jefferson Award, among the highest honors given at CU, the state’s largest institution of higher education.
The awardees were chosen for embodying and advancing the ideals of Jefferson, the third U.S. president and a Founding Father who greatly influenced American arts, sciences, education and public affairs. The annual Jefferson Award recognizes CU faculty, staff and students who demonstrate excellence in the performance of regular responsibilities at the university while contributing outstanding service to the broader community.
The 2016 honorees are:
Faculty:
![CU-Boulder Julie Carr CU-Boulder Julie Carr](/sites/default/files/carr_0%20crop_0.jpg)
CU-Boulder Julie Carr
Staff:
![Michelle Médal Michelle Médal](/sites/default/files/MEDAL%20headshot%20crop.jpg)
CU Denver Michelle Médal
Student:
![CU Anschutz Arezoo Bahramirad CU Anschutz Arezoo Bahramirad](/sites/default/files/Arezoo%20Bahramirad%20preferred%20crop_0.jpg)
CU Anschutz Arezoo Bahramirad
A committee of CU faculty, staff and students selects winners. Recipients receive an engraved plaque and a $2,000 honorarium.
The Thomas Jefferson Award was established at the University of Virginia in 1951 by the Robert Earll McConnell Foundation to honor teaching faculty who exemplified the humanistic ideals associated with Jefferson. By 1962, six other institutions – including CU – had established a Jefferson Award. In 1980, the university added a student category; in 1988, the staff category was approved. Funding for the awards is derived from earnings on an endowment provided by the McConnell Foundation and from a bequest by Harrison Blair, a CU alumnus.
About the CU System
The University of Colorado is a premier public research university with four campuses: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. With 61,258 students (and another 8,000 taking courses for credit), over 4,900 full-time instructional faculty members and another 1,200 research faculty members, CU is the largest institution of higher education in the state of Colorado. Its total workforce is approximately 29,000. CU’s annual budget is $3.5 billion. Academic prestige is marked by CU’s five Nobel laureates, nine MacArthur “genius” Fellows, 20 astronauts and 19 Rhodes Scholars. For more information about the entire CU system, and to access campus resources, go to www.cu.edu.
Contact: Jay Dedrick, 303-860-5707, JayDedrick@cu.edu
Photos available upon request