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Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Awards

The Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Award Program of the Technology Division at Cullen College of Engineering is an opportunity to showcase outstanding faculty and staff to the University and the business community. Nominations are accepted now through 11:59 PM Friday, March 29, 2024.

Award Categories

  • Faculty Research Excellence (RE)
  • Teaching Excellence Tenure/Tenure Track (TE_TT)
  • Teaching Excellence Non-Tenure/Non-Tenure Track (TE_NTT)
  • Faculty Service Excellence (FSE)
  • Staff Excellence (SE)
  • Graduate Student Excellence (GSE)

 

Submission Process for All Awards

  • Please consolidate the application package (nomination form and all other required documents) into a single PDF file (please use the abbreviation of award categories + underscore + the nominee’s last name as the file name, e.g. “FSE_LastName.pdf”).
  • Please submit via this secure site for the Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Awards: https://forms.office.com/r/DjFshfHNff
  • No physical/paper submissions will be accepted.
  • The application package must be complete. Incomplete packages will be eliminated from the selection process.

 

Selection Process for all Awards

  • It is the responsibility of the Senior Associate Dean to notify faculty members of the due dates for the awards application package and ensure that the process is conducted in a fair and equitable manner.
  • Each year the awards must be announced to the faculty through email at least two weeks in advance of the due date of the application packages.
  • The award selection will take place during the spring semester of each academic year.
  • The Advisory Committee will review and select the awardees.
  • No member of the Advisory Committee may take part in the voting for an award recipient if the member is a candidate for that award. Advisory members may be nominated for awards. However, they must recuse themselves from voting and another member of their department must be selected to represent the department during voting for the applicable award.
  • A previous award recipient is ineligible for the same award nomination for three academic years following the prior award.
  • The Associate Dean(s), Managers, Directors, and Department Chairs are not eligible for these awards.

 

Eligibility Criteria

Category 1: Faculty Research Excellence

The academic community and one’s peers define research as leading-edge scholarly activity including textbooks, refereed journal publications, conference publications, external funding and grants, and other scholarly activity that is recognized. The scholarly contributions of the individual during the period covered by the award are the determining factor in this award.

Eligibility Criteria

  • All tenured and tenure-track faculty members are eligible for the award.
  • Any faculty member may nominate another faculty member for the award. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
  • Applicants should agree to be photographed and cooperate with the Technology Division for any media efforts to promote the Technology Division to the community and to the donor.
  • The selection committee is the Advisory Committee (AC). The AC will recognize high-quality scholarly activity. Quality supersedes quantity of work.

Application Package

  1. Nomination Form.
  2. Nominee's curriculum vitae outlining research activities over at least the last two calendar years. The information must be presented in reverse chronological order and the citations should be complete to be considered. Members of the selection committee are authorized to request additional information if necessary.
  3. Three letters of recommendation should be included with the package. External letters of support are welcome.

 

Category 2: Teaching Excellence Tenure/Tenure-Track

Exceptional tenured or tenure-track faculty who have demonstrated excellence in teaching are eligible for this award. This award recognizes that the exceptional teaching of students contributes to the Technology Division, Cullen College of Engineering, the University, and the community at large.

Eligibility Criteria

  • All full-time tenure or tenure-track faculty members are eligible for the award.
  • Any faculty member may nominate another faculty member for the award. Students may nominate faculty members and self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
  • Applicants should agree to be photographed and cooperate with the Technology Division for any media efforts to promote the Technology Division to the community and to the donor.
  • The selection committee is the Advisory Committee (AC). The AC will recognize high-quality scholarly teaching.

Application Package 

  1. Nomination Form
  2. One-page statement of teaching philosophy by the nominee.
  3. Nominee's curriculum vitae highlighting, in reverse chronological order, the teaching-related activities such as: course development, advising, mentoring, and other contributions to the teaching program of a department or Technology Division.
  4. Course evaluations of all classes taught in the past three semesters, including written comments from students.
  5. Two letters of recommendation from students who are not currently enrolled in the nominee's class in the current academic year’s spring semester.
  6. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
  7. External letters of support are welcome.

 

Category 3: Teaching Excellence Non-Tenure/Non-Tenure Track

All full-time and part-time teaching faculty who are not tenured or tenure-track are eligible for this award. This award recognizes that the exceptional teaching of students contributes to the Technology Division, Cullen College of Engineering, the University, and the community at large.

Eligibility Criteria

  • All full-time and part-time non-tenure or non-tenure-track faculty members are eligible for the award.
  • Any faculty member may nominate another faculty member for the award. Students may nominate faculty members and self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
  • Applicants should agree to be photographed and cooperate with the Technology Division for any media efforts to promote the Technology Division to the community and to the donor.
  • The selection committee is the Advisory Committee (AC). The AC will recognize high-quality teaching.

Application Package 

  1. Nomination Form.
  2. One-page statement of teaching philosophy by the nominee.
  3. Nominee's curriculum vitae highlighting, in reverse chronological order, the teaching-related activities such as: course development, advising, mentoring, and other contributions to the teaching program of a department or the Technology Division.
  4. Course evaluations of all classes taught in the past three semesters, including written comments of students. Be sure to include a copy of the Overall Summary Sheet Statistics provided to you within the University's Course Evaluation package.
  5. Two letters of recommendation from students who are not currently enrolled in the nominee's class in the current academic year’s spring semester.
  6. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member.

 

Category 4: Faculty Service Excellence

The service award recognizes the contributions of the faculty members to their department, technology division, college, university, and profession. The award recognizes individuals based on their contributions to the mission and vision of the Technology Division and not just on the number of committees served.

Eligibility Criteria

  • All full-time faculty members are eligible for the award.
  • Any faculty member may nominate another faculty member for the award. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
  • Applicants should agree to be photographed and cooperate with the Technology Division for any media efforts to promote the Technology Division to the community. 
  • The selection committee is the Advisory Committee (AC). The AC will recognize high-quality service efforts.

Application Package 

  1. Nomination Form.
  2. A service resume outlining the internal and external service activities of the candidate. This could include department, technology division, college, and university committees, service to the profession, leadership positions in professional organizations, and other materials the applicant feels would shed light on the service credentials to the field of education.
  3. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
  4. One letter of recommendation from the department.

 

Category 5: Staff Excellence

The staff award is an opportunity to showcase outstanding staff who work with students, faculty, other staff, and administrators. Recognition is given for outstanding service and innovative ideas to the technology division, college, students, faculty, and other staff.

Eligibility Criteria

  • All full-time staff members are eligible for the award. (Minimum number of years of service to Technology Division)
  • Any staff or faculty member may nominate a staff member for the award. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged.
  • Applicants should agree to be photographed and cooperate with the Technology Division for any media efforts to promote the Technology Division to the community.
  • The selection committee is the Advisory Committee (AC). The selection committee (AC) will recognize high-quality service and innovative ideas for students, faculty, and staff.

Application Package 

  1. Nomination Form.
  2. A letter of recommendation from the department.
  3. Outline activities over the period covering the award that recognize this staff member's exemplary contributions and accomplishments.

 

Category 6: Graduate Student Excellence

The graduate student award recognizes the contributions of graduate students of the Technology Division in either teaching or research.

Eligibility Criteria

  • All full-time, Technology Division graduate students are eligible for the award.
  • Any faculty member may nominate a graduate student for the award.
  • An award recipient may receive this award only once.
  • Applicants should agree to be photographed and agree to cooperate with the Technology Division for any media efforts to promote the Technology Division to the community.
  • The selection committee is the Advisory Committee (AC). The AC will recognize the high-quality scholarly activity. Quality supersedes quantity of work.

Application Package

  1. Nomination Form.
  2. A research or teaching portfolio that includes materials testifying to the accomplishments of the graduate student.
  3. Course evaluations of all classes taught by the graduate student (TA only).
  4. Documentation of participation in research grant or scholarly activities (RA only).
  5. Letter of recommendation from a faculty member.