Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award

Selection Procedures for Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awards

Objective

The Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awards recognizes and supports excellent teaching at East Carolina University.

Awards Per Year

Six recipients of this award each will receive a stipend of $1,000.

Eligibility

Nominees must:

  1. be a full-time faculty member at East Carolina University;
  2. have taught at East Carolina University for three or more years;
  3. be teaching in the academic year in which they are selected;
  4. not have won the award within the last four years; and
  5. have demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability.

Nomination Procedures and Guidelines

Faculty members are nominated for this award by their college or school. Any eligible faculty member may request consideration by the college or school.

While faculty members may be nominated for more than one university teaching award (Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Awards, Max Ray Joyner Award for Outstanding Teaching in Distance Education, and East Carolina Alumni Association Outstanding Teaching Award and Robert L. Jones Teaching Award), faculty members may only accept nomination and submit a portfolio for one university teaching award in a given year.

Nominations are made in the following two steps: (1) Nominee names and basic information must be submitted to a survey link posted on the Faculty Senate website by September 15 at 5:00 pm (or the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend). Nominees will be contacted by the OFE following the survey nomination deadline and provided with information about the application packet that must be submitted if they wish to pursue the award. (2) A nomination letter addressing the criteria outlined above and specifying why the nominee deserves the award should be submitted electronically to the nominee no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 15, or the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend.

Nominations are made by academic code units. The maximum number of nominations will be distributed among the academic code units according to their relative number of faculty within an academic code unit – no more than one nominee per ten faculty members in the unit.

Nominees who wish to pursue the award must submit their application packets electronically in accordance with directions provided by the OFE no later than 11:59 p.m. EDT on November 1, or the next business day if the 1st falls on a weekend. In addition, nominees will complete the provided information sheet template and submit an electronic photograph. Additional information may be requested as necessary to comply with UNC-GA requirements.

The application packet must adhere to the following specifications. It must:

  1. begin with an itemized list of all materials in the application packet;
  2. include representative examples of your instruction methods;
  3. utilize margins, fonts, type sizes, and colors to ensure readability; and
  4. be a total of 50 pages or fewer. This page limit does not include the itemized list, information sheet, photograph, and CV.

The application packet should be clearly divided into the following three sections:

Section 1: Personal Information

The intent of this section is to establish a context for the nominee’s teaching for the selection committee members, many of whom may not be familiar with the nominee’s area of discipline. It should include the following two items:

  • CV: a current curriculum vitae; and
  • Teaching Statement: a brief written statement (not to exceed 2 pages, double-spaced) that provides context for the materials selected for the nominee’s portfolio. The statement should include the nominee’s teaching philosophy, describe methods used by the nominee to achieve educational goals, and provide other information to prepare the selection committee for an effective review of the portfolio.

Section 2: Input from Students, Colleagues, and Peers

This section provides the selection committee with multiple forms of feedback from the nominee’s students and colleagues. These materials include feedback gathered through ongoing standard university processes as well as feedback that is aligned specifically with this award nomination and must include:

  • Nomination letter;
  • Student letters: letters of support from 2 or 3 former students of the nominee;
  • Peer evaluations: at least 1, and no more than 3, peer evaluations of teaching; both classroom and DE evaluations are acceptable. These peer evaluation summaries should utilize the standard campus-approved documents from the nominee’s college or department.

Section 3: Supporting Materials

This section of the application packet is designed to give the candidate some flexibility to select materials that convey the pursuit of excellence in teaching. Materials should be organized or annotated in such a way that demonstrates alignment with the nominee’s teaching statement or rationale for inclusion. Example materials include representative:

  • Course syllabi (strongly recommended);
  • Excerpts from Student Evaluations (strongly recommended);
  • Sample tests or assignments;
  • Teaching materials;
  • Audio files (not to exceed 10 minutes total);
  • Student work;
  • Course artifacts; and
  • Unsolicited feedback from students.

Evaluation Procedures

In the fall semester, the selection committee will be established by the Chair of the Academic Awards Committee and will consist of: 2 members of the Academic Awards Committee; 2 faculty members appointed by the Provost, including one representative from the Health Sciences; 1 faculty member appointed by the Chair of the Faculty; and 1 student member appointed by the President of the Student Government Association. Following the appointment or election of a selection committee chair, the selection committee will develop a checklist and rubric for evaluating and scoring the application packets in accordance with the approved award procedures.

In November, packets will be made available to members of the selection committee, and the selection committee will review and evaluate the submitted materials according to the developed checklist and rubric. The checklist and rubric must mirror the award guidelines.

By early January, the Academic Awards Committee will forward to the Chancellor the names of all nominees, indicating those they have recommended to receive the awards, and provide access to the supporting documentation of the selected recipients. Based on the award guidelines, the Chancellor either concurs or meets with the committee to seek resolution.

The award recipients will be recognized during a celebratory event. Following the public announcement of these awards, the Chancellor will send letters of recognition to recipients and letters of appreciation to nominees.

The award-winning portfolios will be kept on file for public review in the Office for Faculty Excellence, Joyner Library.

(Faculty Senate Resolutions #16-41; #17-41, #21-34, #23-28, editorial revisions in April 2024, #25-42)