VCSU provides Faculty Excellence Awards to full time and adjunct faculty who show exceptional dedication and commitment to students and the University by outstanding teaching, scholarly activities, or university service. The institution will give a monetary award to three recipients: one senior faculty (associate or full professor), one junior faculty (instructor or assistant professor) and one adjunct or special appointment faculty. The President of VCSU will announce the recipients in early May of the academic year.

A. Award Requirements

  1. Faculty and/or supervisors will nominate faculty for consideration (see procedure D). 
  2. Self-nominations are not acceptable. 
  3. Nominees must be full-time employees for faculty awards; nominees for the adjunct award must have taught at VCSU for three consecutive years. 
  4. Nominees must be the appropriate rank for each award.
  5. Recipients of a Faculty Excellence Award are ineligible to receive any Faculty Excellence Award for three academic years following receipt.

B. Award Criteria

Award criteria are open-ended and may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following contributions:

  1. Fulfilled goals of the University Strategic Plan (Department, University, state, or other goals)
  2. Received recognition for achievement outside of the university
  3. Utilized innovative approaches inside or out of the classroom
  4. Revitalized or restructured an existing program or initiative
  5. Created a new program or initiative
  6. Participated in significant cross-departmental collaboration
  7. Engaged in significant service or activity (to the University, the public, or the State) that positively impacts the University
  8. Provided significant contributions to the individual’s discipline (books, papers, presentations, etc.)
  9. Exceeded expectations the job description for the given rank, i.e., “goes above and beyond”
  10. Exhibited evidence of other comparable contributions

C. Award Selection

  1. Faculty members who have received awards in the previous three academic years will review the nominations. If these faculty members decline to participate or are otherwise unavailable, each vacant position will be filled by a member of the Faculty Advocacy Committee who has not been nominated.
  2. Any person who is a nominee cannot be part of the evaluation process.
  3. The Faculty Advocacy Committee and faculty members who have received awards in the previous three academic years are not allowed to nominate people.
  4. The nominating body will take a blind vote without any prior discussion of the nominations.
  5. The nominating body will forward no more than one recommendation for each award to the President
  6. The President shall review and select the recipient from each category.

D. Procedure for Application
  1. The Faculty Advocacy Committee Chair will send out a campus email to call for nominations by the first Friday in December.
  2. Faculty and/or supervisors will submit nomination forms to the chair of the Faculty Advocacy Committee, through the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs, by the first Friday in February (form AA-19 Faculty Award of Excellence Nomination is located at X:\institution\Offices\AcademicAffairs\Academic Forms).
  3. Information on the nomination form will include:
    • A specific description of why the person deserves the award (based on criteria above)
    • A statement of impact to the University
    • One or more letters of support from students, faculty, staff, administration, or community.
  4. Following receipt of the nomination forms, and no later than the first Friday in March, the Faculty Advocacy Committee will request from the nominees the following support documentation:
    • Curriculum Vita
    • Artifacts specific to the nomination
    • Additional information to support the nomination
  5. The nominating body will not consider incomplete nomination forms.
  6. The nominating body will review nominations and support documentation by the first Friday in April and forward one name in each category to the President of the University for approval.
  7. The President of the University will notify the recipient in each category by the first Friday in May.

    Sponsor:  Faculty Advocacy Committee
    Effective:  December 2014
    Revised:  March 2016
    Revised:  November 2018