A look at the return of the University Service Awards
By Andy Ober, University Marketing and Communications
University of Arizona employees pose together for a selfie during the University Service Awards.
Monday's return of the University Service Awards brought more than 600 people to the Davis Center to celebrate university employees who have reached service milestones ranging from 10 to 55 years.
The university honored 994 employees from 2025 and 1,099 employees from 2026 at the ceremony. The celebration was opened by University President Suresh Garimella and emceed by Christina Rocha, accounting services manager in the Office of Research and Partnerships, and Nikki Reed, assistant professor of practice in the School of Theatre, Film and Television.
The ceremony began with a performance from the Faculty/Staff Choir and a surprise closing performance from the full Pride of Arizona. Explore these and more moments from the return of the University Service Awards, from employees reconnecting with colleagues to milestone honorees taking the stage, in the gallery below.
The celebration featured a video with perspectives from some of the longest-serving university employees. Among them was Dr. Marlys Witte, professor in the Department of Surgery, who celebrated 55 years with the university and shared advice for new employees.
“My best advice for somebody starting a career is, to have a dream, and to have an idea of how you might accomplish it, and then to keep moving with that dream, share it with other people, and make it a collective dream, and make it grow,” Witte said.
The video shown at the ceremony is below.