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Office of the Provost

Faculty Excellence Awards

FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS, 2008-2009


The nominations for the 2008-09 Faculty Excellence Awards have been received. The committee will be cheerfully deliberating over the next several weeks on the respected nominations. The 2008-2009 recipients will be announced at December commencement and the faculty-staff Christmas brunch.  The purpose of these awards is to recognize the outstanding work of faculty in teaching, advising, research, service, and mentoring.  For the teaching and research awards, the purpose is to recognize achievements primarily accomplished during the prior academic year.  For the advising, service, and mentoring awards, nominations may be made for achievements over several years.  Each recipient receives a $2500 award.  Nominations were received in the Office of the Provost by October 15, 2008.



The Awards

     
Excellence in Teaching.  One award.  To recognize a teacher who embodies the qualities of excellent teaching, as measured by such skills as the ability to communicate knowledge effectively, to inspire in students a love of learning, and the willingness to go “above and beyond” in working with students in and outside of class.  Evidence of excellence may be found in a variety of sources, including teaching evaluations, peer and student testimonials, and outside recognitions.  Previous recipients: Joanna Gregson, Dana Anderson, Robert Jensen, Tom Campbell, Jessica Sklar, Craig Fryhle, and Celine Dorner.

Excellence in Advising.  One award.    To recognize a faculty advisor who embodies the qualities of effective and caring concern for student academic progress, as measured by skill at helping students plan their academic schedule, navigate the challenges of college life, and make well-chosen life and career decisions.  Nominations for this award should come from faculty and students. Previous recipients: Beth Kraig, Richard Jobst, Tom Carlson, David Robbins, Keith Cooper, Fern Zabriskie, and Paloma Martinez-Carbajo.

K. T. Tang Awards for Excellence in Research.  Two awards. Provided through an endowment established by Wilfrid Chan of Hong Kong, a 1974 alumnus in physics, in honor of his former professor, Dr. K. T. Tang.  The awards recognize faculty scholars who have made significant contributions to their disciplines through dissemination of rigorous, substantial, and on-going research activities employing methodologies appropriate to their disciplines; recent accomplishments are especially relevant. Previous recipients: Jeff Stuart, Patricia Killen, K. T. Tang, Art Gee, Erin McKenna, Rachid Benkhalti, Dean Waldow, Chung-Shing Lee, Robert Ericksen, Sid Olufs, Samuel Torvend, R. Michael Brown, and Douglas E. Oakman.

Excellence in Service.  One award.  To recognize a faculty member who embodies the university mission of “service, leadership, and care,” by demonstrating academic leadership and influence in the life of the university through service in the areas of faculty governance, the university generally, our academic community, and community and profession beyond the university.  Previous recipients: Paul Menzel, Ann Kelleher, and Roberta Brown.

Faculty Excellence in Mentoring in Honor of Art Gee.  One award.  Established through a gift from Tom Carlson (Department of Biology) and dedicated to his mentor, Art Gee, this award recognizes the efforts of a faculty member acting as a “personal guide” to students or colleagues.  A mentor is one who, through experience, caring, and knowledge, makes a profound difference in the life of another by being a role model, a confidant, a critic, a friend, a teacher, and a co-learner.  There is no single definition of an excellent mentor.  Previous recipients: Matthew Smith, Dana Anderson, Patsy Maloney, Cliff Rowe, and Jill Whitman.

There is no rule that precludes a previous recipient from receiving another award.  Prior to 2001, the faculty excellence award was a collective excellence award.  Recipients include:  Stuart Bancroft, Stan Brue, Paul Menzel, William Becvar, Ed Claussen, Gerry Meyers, Chris Browning, Anne Hirsch, Ann Kelleher, Judith Ramaglia, Robert Stivers, Fred Tobiason, William Greenwood, Patricia Killen, Diane MacDonald, Beth Kraig, Norris Peterson, Greg Youtz, Colleen Hacker, Jack Cady, Douglas Oakman, Don Wentworth, Art Gee, Rachel Nugent, Charles Bergman, Nancy Howell, Howard Butcher, Kent Gerlach, Sharon Jansen, E. Wayne Carp, Laura Klein, Roberta Brown, and Anna Leon-Guerrero.
 

Process for Nomination and Selection

 Nomination packets should be submitted to the Office of the Provost by October 15, 2008.  Nominations will NOT  be accepted after this date, although late supporting material will be accepted, if the awards committee has not begun deliberations.  The nomination packet should be submitted by the dean of the nominee’s unit.  Nomination packets must include one letter of nomination that speaks to the award criteria and does not exceed three pages in length.  In addition, each packet should include materials specific to the award:

Required documentation for the Teaching award:
  • Testimonials from faculty, students, or others not to exceed one page in length.
  • Numeric summary data from uniform teaching evaluations (course, semester and annual summaries for the past two years) and selected student comments that speak to the teaching skills of the nominee. [If evaluation summaries are not available in the nominee’s department or unit, please contact the Provost’s Office.]
  • The nomination letter should provide some context for the nominee’s teaching evaluation summaries (e.g., how the nominee’s teaching record compares with other faculty in department or unit). 

Required documentation for the Research awards:
  • Testimonials from PLU faculty, students, or staff that specifically address research quality not to exceed two pages in length.
  • External testimony in the form of reviews by or letters from non-PLU scholars.
  • Copies or excerpts of presentations or publication in support of the nomination, including publication information as appropriate.
  • The nomination letter should address research and publishing norms within the nominee’s discipline (e.g. order of multiple authors, collaborative vs. single author projects, presentations vs. publications, texts vs. scholarly papers).

For the Advising award:
  •   Testimonials from faculty, students, staff, or alumni regarding the quality of the advising received from the nominee not to exceed one page in length.
  • The nomination letter should include information regarding the number of advisees served, the nature of these advisees (e.g., transitional, major or minor), any available information regarding the number of years as an advisor, or other indices of on-going commitment to advising.

For the Service award:
  • Testimonials by PLU colleagues and students
  • Record of university and professional service
  • Documentation of public recognitions

For the Mentoring award:
  • At least two testimonials from individuals in a position to provide specific evidence of the quality of the mentoring support they received, with each testimonial not to exceed three pages in length.

Note: When there are multiple nominees from the same unit for a particular award, the appropriate Dean should provide a ranking of the nominations, using whatever process (such as consultation with chairs) that dean believes appropriate. The ranking should be accompanied by a brief explanation.  Normally deans are not nominated for these awards.

A faculty awards advisory committee will be convened to recommend award recipients to the Provost and President.  A committee member may not be nominated for an award.  The Provost may consult with appropriate student(s) or student group(s) regarding the recipient of the advising award as part of the deliberation process.



For Quigg Awards:  Information on this process will be available soon.