Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence Award

Through the generosity of Dr. Thomas E. Lifka and the enthusiastic support of the UCLA Division of Social Sciences, we are pleased to announce the Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize and honor UCLA Social Sciences division staff members who have demonstrated exceptional performance and service during the preceding academic year or contributed to a career of distinguished service within the Social Sciences Division. The Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence Award will be presented annually at the Division’s staff recognition event in the spring. 

The UCLA Division of Social Sciences will present two types of awards, the Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence in Staff Performance award and the Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence in Administrative Leadership award. Six staff members will be recognized during the 2025 award cycle.  

Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence in Staff Performance Award 

• One $5,000 award – Main awardee in this category  

• Two $1,000 awards – Runner up awardees in this category 

The purpose of this award is to recognize and honor Social Sciences division staff members (non-MSO/CAO) who have demonstrated exceptional performance and service during the preceding academic year or contributed to a career of distinguished service within the Social Sciences Division. 

This award is open to various staff positions including program and event specialists, office managers, fund managers, communications specialists, staff analysts, student affairs officers, payroll specialists, IT coordinators, among others. More eligibility details are available on the nomination form. 

Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence in Administrative Leadership Award  

• One $5,000 award – Top awardee in this category  

• Two $1,000 awards – Runner up awardees in this category 

The purpose of this award is to recognize and honor MSO and CAO Social Sciences division staff members who have demonstrated exceptional performance and service during the preceding academic year or contributed to a career of distinguished service within the Social Sciences Division.

For this category, Chairs and/or Directors should nominate a senior MSO or CAO staff member within their department. More eligibility details are available on the nomination form. 

Note: Since the maximum award the division can give employees is $5,000 within the fiscal year, the main awardee in each category will not be eligible to receive the STAR Award. The runner-up awardees receiving the Lifka Staff Excellence Award are still eligible for a STAR Award in their home department. 

The nomination must be accompanied with specific examples of excellence and service that are beyond what is required of their job duties. Some examples include a history of exceeding productivity, recognized exceptional customer service, and/or outstanding creativity and dedication.

Excellence in Staff Performance

Eligibility: Junior staff (non-MSO/CAO)

Nomination Process: Please work with senior staff in your unit to identify and submit one nomination together.

Nomination Form: Submit Nomination

Excellence in Administrative Leadership

Eligibility: Senior MSO or CAO staff members

Nomination Process: Chairs/Directors should submit nominations independently.

Nomination Form: Submit Nomination

Nominees will have demonstrated and sustained exceptional performance that consistently exceeds goals and work expectations in quantity and/or quality in the following areas: 

• Creativity: One-time innovation or creation that results in time/dollar savings, revenue enhancement, and productivity improvement; and/or ongoing innovative/creative activities that benefit organizational systems, protocols, and/or procedures. 
• Organizational abilities: Exhibiting extraordinary skills in leadership resulting in the accomplishment of significant departmental or divisional goals and objectives; effective project management, which could include developing a project and/or implementing a project with substantial success; and/or demonstrating organizational capability leading to a greater level of effectiveness. 
• Work success: Significantly exceeding productivity, customer service, quality of care or similar goals, including demonstrating superior interactions with managers, peers, supervisors, subordinates, the University community, and/or clients and customers served 
• Teamwork: Acting as an exceptionally effective and cooperative team member or team leader for a team that has significantly exceeded the goals/objectives of the department/unit. 

The nominated staff member must be an active employee in one of the units of the Social Sciences Division and must have been in this same position within the unit for a minimum of 12 months at the time of nomination. Since the award will be paid out via the Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) plan, only staff members who qualify for STAR awards may receive this award. Awardees must also understand that this payment will reduce the STAR program $5,000 cap for the year. 

Tom E. Lifka came to UCLA in 1982 as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Academic Service. During his 29-year career at UCLA, Lifka oversaw admissions, financial aid, loan services, the registrar’s office, career center and international student services. His goal was to ensure as wide and diverse an admissions pool as possible at UCLA. 

While at UCLA, Lifka also held responsibility for student computer systems and, in partnership with the Office of Administrative Information Systems, he oversaw the development of computer support from its infancy to the large, complex systems of the 21st century. An interesting aspect of his job was that for almost 30 years, he chaired a small committee charged with reviewing and admitting UCLA’s student athletes. Lifka liked to joke that in this capacity, he made a personal contribution to the winning of more than 50 NCAA championships for UCLA.  

As a campus leader and proud gay man, Lifka was an early contributor to UCLA’s efforts to increase the numbers of students from underserved communities and vocal supporter of the establishment of the LGBTQ+ Resources Center. 

Lifka earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern in 1967, followed by a masters in 1968 and doctorate in 1973, both from Harvard University. Rather than devote his career to academic research, he decided to embark on a career in university administration, with a particular focus on admissions.  

In 2023 Dean Abel Valenzuela honored Lifka by creating the Thomas E. Lifka Staff Excellence Award and naming him its first recipient. Upon receiving the honor Lifka remarked, “The entire experience, of course, reinforces my life’s great gratification in becoming an active part of the UCLA community over 40 years ago.” He then worked with Dean Abel Valenzuela to endow the award bearing his name to recognize non-academic staff in the UCLA Division of Social Sciences for exemplary service. 

Following his retirement in 2011 as Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Academic Services, Lifka served on the UCLA History Board of Advisors and the UCLA Social Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board. He was also deeply gratified to discover a new calling as a museum docent after retiring, first at the Los Angeles County Museum and then at the Holocaust Museum LA, where he lectured to thousands of visitors. Improving as a proficient amateur painter continued to be Lifka’s favorite avocation. Lifka passed away on January 28, 2025, leaving behind friends who enjoyed the pleasure of his company and will miss his intelligence, humor, and generosity. 

As a philanthropist, Tom E. Lifka also made an immeasurable impact on UCLA’s Department of History, learn more here.