Guidelines for Submission for the Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award

(This information may be found in section 6.0 of the Policy on Faculty Awards, 12-06)

Purpose: The Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, established in 1986, is designed to encourage, reward, and publicly acknowledge sustained excellence in teaching by members of the University’s faculty, including tenured and probationary faculty, lecturers and librarians. Normally, there are no more than three (3) awards granted annually.  

Eligibility: Eligible candidates for the award are all faculty. Nominees must have been employed by the University for a minimum of five (5) years. To be considered, nominees must have completed a minimum of 90 teaching units or an equivalent assignment relative to the University’s instructional mission. A period of ten (10) years must elapse before a recipient is again eligible for this award.  

Nomination: Nominations for the Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award may be submitted by university faculty, staff, administrators, students and/or alumni/ae. Any nominator may nominate only one (1) candidate for this award in a given academic year. The letter of nomination, signed by the nominator(s), shall identify the nominee, and shall provide a brief rationale for the nomination. Nomination letters shall be submitted to the Academic Senate Office.    

Evaluation Criteria: A record of excellence, including the significance of the nominee’s contribution must be demonstrated in instruction and instructionally-related activities. Nominees shall be evaluated on submitted materials that explain their pedagogical approaches and methods, their professional growth in teaching, and their contributions to student learning and development.   

Submission: Nominees for this award are notified of the nomination and provided with application guidelines by the Chair of the Academic Senate. The candidates who accept nomination shall submit an application and the required materials to the Dean of the college.

Materials needed for submission include:

•     A completed Application Form,

•     A 3-5 page summary statement by the nominee highlighting his/her teaching in relation to the award criteria;

•     A current curriculum vitae;

•     From one (1) class, chosen and currently taught by the nominee;

•     Class syllabus;

•     All materials used to assess student learning;

•     A complete set of course supplementary instructional materials;

•     A copy of class syllabi from other classes that the nominee regularly teaches up to a maximum of three (3);

•     Up to a total of five (5) letters of support addressing the quality of instruction of the nominee from faculty, students, and/or other sources; and

•     Summary report of Student Evaluations of Instructor for all classes that were evaluated for the last five (5) years.  

 

 

Review and Ranking by the College Awards Committee: All applications received by the Dean shall be sent to the College Awards Committee. The College Awards Committee shall review and rank the submissions. The College Awards Committee shall then forward the nominees’ submitted materials, along with the Committee’s recommendation and ranking, to the Academic Senate Office.  

See 5.7 for information concerning the College Awards Committee.

Review by the University Awards Committee: The University Awards Committee shall make the final selection of the award recipient(s) from the ranked nominees forwarded by the College Awards Committees. The name(s) of the award recipient(s) shall be forwarded to the Chair of the Academic Senate.