Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching

Engineering Communications Office

For more information, see the campus website.

Faculty members from academic units with professional or graduate instructional programs are eligible for the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. The award consists of $5,000 in cash for the personal use of the faculty member selected and a recurring salary increment of $3,000. Up to two winners will be selected to receive this award.

Tenured and tenure-track faculty members with at least a 50 percent appointment in a graduate or professional degree-granting unit are eligible for consideration. This award is designed for faculty members who do not normally have an opportunity to compete for undergraduate teaching awards. Those tenured or tenure-track faculty members who meet the above criteria, have not been notified of nonreappointment, and who have taught a minimum of one course at the graduate or professional level on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least four full semesters (excluding summers) before nomination for an award are eligible for consideration. Once a person has received an award, that person will not be eligible for nomination during the next five-year period.

Criteria
Consistent excellent performance in the classroom; excellence in supervision of student research or professional practice (e.g., supervision of teachers-in-training, medical residents, veterinarians-in-training); impact on students; innovative approaches to teaching; other contributions to improved instruction, including influence on the curriculum.

Solicitation
Communication from the Office of the Provost.

Nomination
Nominations may be submitted by students, faculty members, administrators, or alumni to a departmental committee. Preferably, the committee will be composed of graduate and professional students and faculty members with no more than half of the committee consisting of faculty members.

The following information should be included in the nomination. Adherence to the following order of presentation is requested to simplify the work of selection committees.

A standard cover page that is signed by the nominator and includes the nominee's name, rank, department, college, and years at UIUC (Attachment A - see website).

A narrative statement of nomination presenting the case for the nominee. This should describe briefly the relevant data on courses taught, student course evaluation results, comments of departmental colleagues, and other relevant information. This statement should comment on the importance of the nominee's courses to the instructional program of the unit and on the nominee's overall impact on past and present undergraduates. The statement should also include the following elements:

For all courses taught by the nominee within the last four years, a chart showing year and semester, course number, enrollment, and level (undergraduate, graduate, or mixed). A key should be included to indicate the course title for each course number listed on the chart. This chart should not exceed one page.

A summary report from the Office of Instructional Resources on teaching ratings in original form (see Attachment B - see website).

Optional: selected comments from evaluation forms, not to exceed two pages.

A self report on teaching goals, methods, and philosophy, not to exceed two pages.

A peer evaluation of teaching, not to exceed two pages.

Not more than four letters of support from students. All students and alumni providing letters of support should be asked to state explicitly in their letters that they have experienced the nominee's teaching as graduate or professional students. This award—one for faculty members, one for academic professionals—is designed to foster and reward. If possible, letters of support should come from students currently enrolled at UIUC and from alumni (see Attachment C for sample solicitation letter). Letters from students should be solicited by the departmental selection committee, not the nominee. The nominee may be asked to suggest some names, and the department should add some names.

Nominations are not to exceed ten, double-spaced pages (excluding cover sheet and four letters from students). If excess materials are forwarded, they will be disregarded and will not be read. Nomination materials should not have any special cover stock or binding but only the standard cover sheet (Attachment A- see website).

Due
November 30
Nominations submitted to the departmental main office. Nominations may be submitted before the winter holiday.
January 15
Deadline to submit ten (10) copies to the college awards committee (for subcommittee III).
January 20
Deadline to submit three (3) copies to the Office of Dean for Academic Programs, 206 Engineering Hall, MC-272.
January 31
two (2) copies of each nomination are transmitted by the dean to the Office of the Provost, 208 Swanlund Building. One copy remains on file in the deans office. The campus selection process is overseen by the Teaching Advancement Board and is advisory to the provost. There is no limit on the number that can be submitted.

Selection
After the departmental review committee has identified its final candidates, the names of those candidates, the names of those candidates and ten copies of their nominations, complete with letters of support, should be forwarded to the College of Engineering awards committee chair (for subcommittee III). Any college or school providing graduate or professional instruction may nominate up to two candidates for this award. Normally, two awards will not be given in the same year to two candidates from the same college or school.

Up to two recipients are selected for these campuswide awards. The campus selection process is overseen by the Teaching Advancement Board and is advisory to the Provost.

Logistics
April
Announcement of award winners at the campus Instructional Awards banquet. Names of recipients are engraved on a commemorative plaque displayed permanently in the Undergraduate Library.

Previous Recipients (College of Engineering)

Note: Award rules changed in 2000 to allow participation by the College of Engineering.