Eminent Faculty Award

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Background

These procedures were formulated and approved in Summer 1997 in consultation with the Provost & Senior Vice President, the Council of Deans, and the Faculty Council Executive Group.

 

Review of Award

• Purpose: To honor one faculty member each year who has made sustained contributions to scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service, bringing honor and recognition to the University.

• Award Amount: $10,000, plus a commemorative plaque.

Review of General Process

Provost & Senior Vice President appoints the Eminent Faculty Award Committee

• Committee consists of eight members (2 from the Research Council; 1 from the Graduate Faculty Council; 1 from the Faculty Council's Academic Standards and Policies Committee; 1 Regents Professor; 1 undergraduate student; 1 graduate student; and 1 award winner from previous year.)

• Committee members will have two-year terms, rotating approximately one-half of the members each year.

• Committee Chair is the award winner from the previous year, so this position rotates each year. The Committee, in consultation with the Provost & Senior Vice President's Office, reviews criteria, and the nomination and screening process. These procedures can be changed upon recommendation by the Committee, in consultation with and subject to approval of the Provost & Senior Vice President.

• The Eminent Faculty Award Committee will select three finalists. Proxy votes will be taken if a committee member cannot be present.

• A final awardee will be selected from the three finalists by a three-member OSU Selection Committee.

Approximate schedule:

January 2016: Academic Affairs staff visits with Committee chair to approve procedures. Award announcement must be updated each year: (a) update year award will be given; (b) update minimum year of first service at Oklahoma State University.

On or about February 2: Request for nominations sent out to deans, associate deans and department heads with December 1 deadline by Provost & Senior Vice President's office.

 

Early March:The Provost send out letter to candidate stating that candidate has been nominated and requesting supporting material.

On or about April 15: Deadline for receipt of supporting material. No later than this date the Chair should schedule meeting of the Committee for selection of finalists.

Fall 2016: Final decision by Committee. Forward one-page letter to Provost with recommendation of three candidates to OSU Selection Committee. The candidates are not to be rank ordered.

 

The President will announce the winner at the University Award Convocation

 

Criteria and Procedures

Eligibility Criteria

Minimum of five years at Oklahoma State University and currently active (e.g., the winner must have been continuously employed in a tenured or tenure-track position at OSU for at least five full academic years).

 

Eligible faculty should be well-rounded, with outstanding accomplishments in scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service. Finalists should be excellent in scholarly-creative activities and at least one of the other two categories, and have evidence of good performance in the third.

 

Intention is to honor OSU's best faculty members.

 

Expectation is that candidate will have received his/her terminal degree at least 10 years previously.

 

Previous award winners are not eligible

 

Process to solicit nominations

 

Provost letter of solicitation, accompanied by the following:

 

*Announcement of award, containing:

1. Description of award

2. Brief description of process

3. Criteria for eligibility

4. Nomination requirements

5. Nomination deadline

6. Instructions about to whom to send materials

• Provost's Office to distribute award announcement and arrange publicity through OSU's Office of Communication Services.

• Information to be provided by nominees:

• The committee will review appropriate supporting material from the candidate:

1. At least three (3) current supporting letters describing accomplishments in scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service (at least two letters should be from sources outside OSU and one MUST be from either the dean, department head, or department personnel committee and should be the first page of the support packet);

2. A curriculum vitae;

3. A list of courses taught in the last five years (by course name and number), with enrollment for each course;

4. Supporting evidence for accomplishments in research, teaching and/or service; and

5. One (1) copy of not more than four (4) scholarly works; documentation of creative activity; a list of past awards in research, teaching and/or service; representative copies of course syllabi; evidence of outstanding supervision of student research, and comprehensive student ratings of teaching. However, all supporting evidence must fit into a one-inch, three-ring binder. Materials such as books, tapes, CD's, newspaper clippings, photographs, etc., as well as personal information (families, hobbies, church activities) should not be included.

Suggested screening process:

• Optional: In the event of a large number of applications, initial review of applications by all Committee members to select 10 semi-finalists by vote at committee meeting.

• Optional: Intense review of about 10 semi-finalists by all committee members after committee meeting. Optional activities might include:

1. Asking for additional information if necessary and if time allows;

2. Possible additional external peer review; and/or

3. Committee members work in pairs to discuss three finalists with relevant Deans/Chairs or others where appropriate.

Vote to narrow nominees to three finalists by consensus if possible, by formal voting or ranking procedure if consensus not possible.

• Submission to Provost one page summary of three recommended candidates for use by the OSU Selection Committee. Candidates are not to be rank ordered. Other publicity for award -- Announcement of award in materials prepared for University Awards Convocation and other announcements arranged by OSU's Office of Communication Services.