President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Career-Track Faculty

Overview

Two award winners are expected to be named each year. The award is designed to specifically honor career-track faculty members who epitomize the highest levels of performance and excellence and who provide a vital role in teaching WSU students in the pursuit of the university’s goals and thereby in the fulfillment of its mission.

Eligibility

All regularly appointed career-track faculty members of the Washington State University faculty (half time or greater) at the time of selection are eligible for this award. This would include career-track faculty, instructors, senior instructors, adjunct or affiliate faculty (see the Faculty Manual for descriptions).

Criteria

The President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Career-Track Faculty is presented to a member of the faculty in recognition of truly outstanding accomplishments in the establishment of excellence in the instructional programs of Washington State University. Activities encompassed by this award may be either outstanding singular accomplishments or a record of excellence over a period of years, including some combination of the following:

• ability to engage and stimulate students and convey excitement related to course content;
• current, innovative, and effective teaching practices that communicate high expectations and challenge students;
• availability to students and willingness to assist and mentor them;
• recognizing and effectively responding to the varied needs, perspectives, and experiences of students;
• success in significantly increasing students’ intellectual growth, critical thinking ability, and integrated view of the subject matter; and
• organizing or conducting new courses or revitalizing existing courses.

Application Process

Nominators are asked to submit the nomination form, a copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae, and a narrative of 1000 words or less, stating why the nominee meets the award criteria and is deserving of the award.

Please do not submit additional information during the initial phase.  At a later date, for those nominees moving forward for secondary consideration, the nominator(s) will be asked to provide additional supporting information. Representative examples of additional information may include:

• A brief description of the nominee’s position at Washington State University and the approximate percentage of assignment to instruction.
• Courses taught (one-sentence description, number of semesters, enrollment).
• Statement of teaching philosophy (2-page maximum).
• A description of the issues, behaviors, and activities that make the candidate a successful teacher. Ideally, this would include evidence of learning effectiveness (e.g., comparative research studies of learning outcomes, evaluations from peers, any publications related to teaching, etc.).
• Summary of recent student evaluations (2-page maximum).
• Two to five letters of support from individuals who can evaluate the contributions to instruction and attest to their significance, particularly in light of the award criteria.

Recent Honorees