Skip to main
Employees celebrating teamwork

Did you miss UK Appreciation Day this past spring? How about Well-being Week? Like nearly all events this past spring and summer, both events were canceled to help ensure the health and safety of our employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the pandemic continues to reshape the ways in which we connect, UK Staff Senate and Human Resources teamed up to offer something special for everyone to enjoy this fall and beyond. Plans were developed in response to a survey conducted by Staff Senate in May 2020 about appreciation.

We present “Recognize and Recharge” events during the week of October 5-9 and a new community quickstarts web page with a book raffle and year-round tools for appreciation, belonging and self-care.

“Recognize and Recharge” events invite everyone — faculty, staff and even students — to take pause and emerge stronger and better individually and as a community. Among the 15+ events, you’ll find these community-wide opportunities:

  • Outstanding Staff Awards
  • Moment of Appreciation Unity Meditation
  • Staff Senate Main Body Session with the Office of Inclusion and Diversity
  • Professional development workshops
  • Wellness experiences including yoga and a kitchen scavenger hunt
  • Real Talk Roundtable

Whether you’re on campus, another UK site or remote, we hope you’ll join these online events to “Recognize and Recharge” with our community. We appreciate all of your dedication and contributions to make the University of Kentucky a member of the 2020 Great Colleges to Work For Honor Roll.

Today marks the opening of a book raffle, which closes October 9. Simply enter to win the book of your choice from these options:

  • The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White
  • We Can’t Talk About That at Work! How to Talk About Race, Religion, Politics, and other Polarizing Topics by Mary Frances Winters
  • The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition by Brené Brown

You’ll find more information about the events and books on our community quickstarts web page, which serves as a single place on the HR website to find tools to more easily activate community.

As a response to the results from the survey about appreciation conducted in May, we created tools to make it easier to show appreciation to peers, leaders and your direct reports.

As a reminder of existing tools, community quickstarts also shows several employee networks in one place, including affinity groups, the UK working parents group and the UK Women’s Forum. Additionally, workshops and resources for diversity, inclusion and equity are offered by HR and UK Inclusive Excellence and Diversity Education, including sessions for teams by request.

These tools and events, available no matter your location, contribute not only to helping create resilient individuals, but also to a university community that will stand stronger and better over time.