Criteria for University-Wide Teaching Awards
Joe and Bettie Branson Ward Excellence Award - no nominations until 2013
This endowed award is based on the belief that education involves positive change and that education is the aggregate of all processes by means of which a person, or groups of people, develop abilities, attitudes and other forms of behavior of positive value to the society in which they participate. The award is open to individuals or groups of individuals who exhibit creative research, teaching or applied demonstration activities that contribute to changes of positive value to society. All areas of intellectual activities are within the scope of the award. Nominees must be current faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin. The Award will be made every three years, with the first award in the year 2001.
Recipients
Minnie Stevens Piper Professorship
Nomination deadline: Friday, October 7, 2011
The Piper Professor Award recognizes professors for outstanding academic, scientific, and scholarly achievement and for dedication to the teaching profession. These awards are intended to provide increased recognition of teaching excellence, although the Foundation's Selection Committee also considers research, publication, and related activity.
Nominees should download the Piper Professor nomination form and complete Part B of the form. The nominee’s college will complete Part A of the form. The form may be downloaded from the following link:
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
Number of nominations:
Award Amount:
(*) NOTE: Amount of honorarium varies depending on endowment income.
Recipients
President's Associates Teaching Excellence Awards
Nomination deadline: Friday, October 7, 2011
The President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award was established in the fall of 1980 to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching at UT Austin in the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences.
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
Number of nominations:
Award Amount:
(*) NOTE: Amount of honorarium varies depending on endowment income.
Recipients
The William David Blunk Memorial Professorship
Nomination deadline: Friday, February 17, 2012
The William David Blunk Memorial Professorship recognizes a member of the faculty who has demonstrated an outstanding record both in undergraduate teaching and in concern for undergraduates as demonstrated through advising and general guidance given to students. Such concern for students should have occurred within the context of excellent scholarship and high standards of performance. Each nominee must hold a tenured faculty appointment at UT Austin, preferably at the level of professor. No adjustment in faculty workload is made for the professorship holder during the year of appointment. Fellowship holders must be on campus during their appointments.
Candidates will be judged in terms of:
- General academic qualifications and performance;
- Demonstrated teaching ability, particularly with undergraduates.
- Evidence of special interests in and on behalf of undergraduate students, including undergraduate thesis advising, undergraduate involvement in research, academic advising and other efforts which make the student educational experience more satisfying and meaningful.
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
- The Provost or his or her delegate (with vote).
- One (1) representative of the Dean of Students Office.
- Four (4) faculty selected by the Provost.
- One (1) undergraduate student selected by the Provost.
Number of nominations:
Award Amount:
(*) NOTE: Amount of honorarium varies depending on endowment income.
Recipients
Dads' Association Centennial Teaching Fellowships
Nomination deadline: Friday, February 17, 2012
At its August 1983 meeting, The University of Texas System Board of Regents established two Dads' Association Centennial Teaching Fellowships. Funds for one endowed fellowship were raised by the UT Austin Dads' Association under the leadership of Mr. Ralph Spence; the other endowed fellowship was established with matching funds under the Centennial Teachers and Scholars Program. Faculty members considered for appointment to these fellowships should hold regular, on-going faculty positions at UT Austin and should be actively engaged in the instruction of freshman undergraduates. Fellowship holders must be on campus during their appointments.
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
Number of nominations:
Award Amount:
(*) NOTE: Amount of honorarium varies depending on endowment income.
Recipients
The Academy of Distinguished Teachers
Nomination deadline: Friday, February 17, 2012
The Academy was established to recognize and honor tenured faculty members who have made sustained and significant contributions to education, particularly at the undergraduate level, within the context of their responsibilities as a full-time faculty member. Members of the Academy are expected to have a distinguished teaching record—many have won teaching awards prior to their appointment to the Academy.
While Deans are not constrained to any formal procedures to identify nominees, they should consult with department chairs and faculty and with student council and/or other representative student groups in their college as part of the process. In addition, consultation with current members of the Academy from the relevant school or college is strongly recommended. If more than one nomination is submitted from a college or school, the Dean of that college or school should rank the nominees. While membership in the Academy recognizes teaching excellence and contributions to education, the Department Chair’s Letter should also provide the context of this excellence by noting the nominee’s scholarly and service contributions.
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
- The Provost or his or her delegate (with vote).
- One other representative of the university's central administration, selected by the Provost.
- Two students, selected by the Provost.
- Two faculty members who are NOT members of the academy, selected by the Provost.
- Four representatives of the Academy recommended by members of the academy and selected by the Provost.
Number of nominations:
Architecture 1; Business 3; Communication 2; Education 2; Engineering 3; Fine Arts 2; Information School 1; Law 1; Liberal Arts 6; Natural Sciences 6; Nursing 1; Pharmacy 1; LBJ School 1; Social Work 1; Jackson School 1
Award Amount:
Recipients
2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards
Submission Deadline: Monday, January 9, 2012 - 5:00pm
The UT System’s vision as an “institution of the first class” includes a commitment to continuous improvement in the quality of the education its faculty provides to its students. Various programs exist at the institution and System levels to recognize teaching excellence, but few focus exclusively on undergraduate education. The Board of Regents places the highest priority on undergraduate teaching at System universities. They wish to encourage teaching excellence by recognizing those faculty who deliver the highest quality of undergraduate instruction, demonstrate their commitment to teaching, and have a history and promising future of sustained excellence with undergraduate teaching in the classroom, in the laboratory, in the field, or online.
In November 2008, the Board of Regents introduced the Regents’ Outstanding Teachers Awards for the nine academic institutions. The awards are a symbol of the importance they place on the provision of teaching and learning of the highest order, in recognition of those who serve our students in an exemplary manner and as an incentive for others who aspire to such service. These teaching awards will complement existing ways in which faculty excellence is recognized and incentivized.
The Regents have allocated $1 million per annum for five years for these teaching awards to be available to faculty at UT Austin. The first awards were presented to faculty in August 2009. The awards include one-time payments to individual faculty. It is intended that no fewer than 30 total awards will be made each year. The intended award breakdown is as follows:
- Tenured faculty: 20 awards of $25,000 each;
- Tenure-track faculty: nine awards of $25,000 each; and
- Contingent faculty: nine awards of $25,000 each. Contingent faculty includes adjuncts, lecturers, and instructional assistants.
Criteria
Award nominees must clearly demonstrate their commitment to teaching and sustained capability to deliver excellence to the undergraduate learning experience. The institutional review of portfolios is expected to evaluate teaching excellence using the following criteria:
- Sustained high performance in student exit (end-of-course) evaluations over at least a three-year period for more than one undergraduate degree course, at any undergraduate level, illustrated through the tabulation of formal student feedback for each course. Evaluation certification by the department or the college is needed to verify results.
- Peer review evaluation of curriculum quality, classroom expertise, and demonstrated focus on learning outcomes and assessment of those outcomes.
- Demonstrated ability to link faculty scholarship with innovative course development, content, and intellectual challenges that together will inspire students’ curiosity and creativity, and promote student engagement in the learning process.
- Additional extraordinary commitment to teaching demonstrated in a variety of ways, including mentoring students, service learning, engagement, advising, being available to students, and undergraduate thesis advising.
- Evidence of continuous improvement and innovation in the preparation of course materials.
- Commitment to high quality undergraduate education from participation in, and experience from, teacher training and/or academic teaching conferences.
- Appropriate use of technology in the classroom (integrated into the curriculum).
- Evidence of teaching awards already gained at department, college or university levels or elsewhere (professional discipline associations).
- Evidence of discipline-related interaction with students beyond the classroom, such as sponsorship of student organizations, sponsorship of scholastic fraternities, field experiences, and undergraduate research.
- To receive the monetary award, selected candidates must be employed at UT Austin as of the date of distribution of the awards. Past Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award recipients may be eligible for nomination again four years after their most recent award, provided they fully meet the criteria for nomination as described above.
Nomination Process
UT Austin may nominate no more than 76 candidates each year. The process of selecting candidates is a rigorous campus-based process, relying heavily on student and peer faculty evaluations within academic departments and progressing through various stages of evaluation up through the university, resulting in a recommendation from the campus president. The process begins at the Department level where the Department Chairman submits nominations to the Dean of a College. A college-wide committee evaluates the nominations received and makes recommendations. Those recommendations in turn go to the Dean of the particular College. The Dean submits his or her recommendations to the Provost. The Provost appoints a committee to advise him or her on the recommendations to submit to the President. The President offers the institution’s final candidates for consideration to UT System’s Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Number of nominations
If more than one nomination is submitted from a college or school, the Dean of that college or school should rank the nominees in a cover letter to be submitted in addition to the nomination packages.
Liberal Arts; Natural Sciences may submit up to:
Five (5) nominations for tenured, four (4) nominations for tenure track and four (4) nominations for non-tenured faculty
Business; Engineering; Communication; Education; Fine Arts may submit up to:
Four (4) nominations for tenured, three (3) nominations for tenure track, and three (3) for nominations non-tenured faculty
Architecture; Information School; Law; Nursing; Pharmacy; LBJ School; Social Work; Jackson School may submit up to:
Three (3) nominations for tenured, two (2) nominations for tenure track, and two (2) for nominations non-tenured faculty
Nomination Contents
Nomination packets must be no larger than 145 pages and submitted to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost in electronic format as a single PDF document bearing the nominee’s last name and campus (e.g., Smith-UTAUS.pdf). Please make sure that original materials are not submitted because nomination materials will not be returned.
NOTE: Within each category of award (tenured, tenure-track, non-tenure track), if more than one nomination is submitted from a college or school, the Dean of that college or school should rank order the nominees and explain the ranking in a cover letter to be submitted in addition to the nomination packages.
The following evidence must be provided in the nomination packet, with additional evidence included at the nominee’s discretion, organized as follows:
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Examples of assessments used to ascertain student attainment of learning outcomes, such as end of the course exams, assessment of higher order thinking, analytical ability; and
- Examples of student engagement in learning (such as active learning strategies, field experiences, service learning, learning communities, and/or undergraduate research).
Student Evaluations of Teaching:
- Record of student evaluations for each course taught, for a minimum of three years. Refrain from submitting individual student evaluations or comments. Statistical results should be tabulated and compared against college norms (These statistics - course instructor surveys and grade inflation indices - will be provided by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.); and
- Letter(s) of support from students.
Teaching Evaluations from Non-Student Sources:
- Letter (s) of support from peer faculty;
- Letter of support from chair of department;
- Letter of support from dean of the college;
- Evidence of Teaching Awards (may be listed in CV or may submit copies of award letters); and
- Letter from Center for Teaching Effectiveness or similar offices, if available.
Teaching portfolio prepared by each candidate, with the following included:
- Syllabus of recent a course;
- A statement of teaching philosophy, objectives, and commitment teaching undergraduates;
- Continuous improvement of course materials;
- Examples of course materials;
- Pedagogical innovations;
- Teacher training experience; and
- Curriculum vitae.
Please include a cover page listing the following information:
- Nominee’s name and title (ex: John Doe, Ph.D., Associate Professor and University Distinguished Teaching Professor);
- Department and university names; and
- Summer contact information, including mailing address, phone number, and email address.
Submission Deadline
Please submit the following:
- Nomination materials as a single PDF document bearing the nominee’s last name and campus (e.g., Smith-UTAUS.pdf) in electronic form (CD or USB flash drive);
- Letter from college dean ordering the ranking of multiple candidates, for review by committee; and
- Email to areyshannon@austin.utexas.edu including names of nominees and their associated department.
Submit all documents to the attention of Amelia Shannon in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost in MAI 201, by Monday, January 9, 2012 - 5:00pm.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Amelia Shannon at 232-3312 or areyshannon@austin.utexas.edu.
Recipients
FRIAR Centennial Teaching Fellowship
Nomination deadline: Friday, March 9, 2012
The Friar Society was established in 1911. It is the oldest and one of the most distinguished multi-disciplinary honor societies at the University. A selection committee made up of society members annually reviews faculty and recommends a recipient to the Provost for his approval. This award recognizes a faculty member who, first and foremost, has attained distinction in teaching undergraduates; and second, who embodies the Friar ideal in having made a significant contribution to The University of Texas at Austin beyond the duties of her or his calling.
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
In March/April the Friar Society recommends recipient to the Provost who then recommends to the President.
Award Amount:
(*) NOTE: Amount of honorarium varies depending on endowment income.
Recipients
2012 Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence in Liberal Arts or Natural Sciences
Nomination period: January 23 - February 29
Forms and nomination instructions available (as of January 23rd)
https://www.texasexes.org/form/holloway.asp
(Exclusively student nominations)
This award symbolizes UT Austin’s commitment to teaching excellence and provides the means to recognize and reward an outstanding tenured or tenure-track teacher from the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences. The person selected should demonstrate warmth of spirit, a concern for society and for the individual, and the ability to impart knowledge while challenging his/her students to independent inquiry and creative thought, as well as a respect for the understanding of the permanent values of our culture.
The Selection Committee is comprised of:
- Five (5) students from Liberal Arts – selected by deans, provost submits names to TexasExes
- Five (5) students from Natural Sciences – selected by deans, provost submits names to TexasExes
- Three (3) faculty advisors (advisors are the relevant Associate Deans from each college and the previous year’s Holloway recipient).
- One (1) advisor (without vote) is a representative from the Ex-Students Association.
The committee solicits nominations from students and ex-students, reviews the credentials, and recommends a candidate to the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Number of nominations:
Award Amount:
(*) NOTE: Amount of honorarium varies depending on endowment income.
Recipients
