Awards Criteria
2024-2025 Excellence in Teaching, Research, Service, and Mentorship Awards
Each year UTC honors outstanding faculty members for excellence in the performance areas of teaching, research, service, and mentoring. The application procedures and criteria for these awards are described below.
- Mentorship Awards
- Teaching Awards
- Research Awards
- Service Awards
Mentorship Award
- Nomination Process
- Nominator
- Must be a current or former UTC faculty member
- Submit a letter of nomination (limit of 500 words)
- Nominee
- Submits a self-narrative of mentoring activities (limit of 500 words)
- Protégés
- Up to two additional protégés may be identified by either the nominator or the nominee
- Submit a letter of support (limit of 500 words per letter)
- Application materials
- Nominee, nominator, and protégé statements
Nominations will not be considered if they exceed word count limits.
- Nominator
- Mentorship Awards
Awarded to any member of the UTC Faculty who has consistently demonstrated commitment to fostering the intellectual, creative, scholarly, personal, or professional growth of their proteges so that they may function effectively and with measurable success. Recipients of this award strive to help others in career growth or personal development.
All UTC Faculty members, including Tenured, Tenure-Track, Non-Tenure Track, Teaching (Lecturer), Clinical, Research, Faculty of Practice, Adjunct Faculty, and Department Heads, are eligible to receive this award.
- Campus-level administrators (e.g., in the offices of the Chancellor and Provost, or Deans) are not eligible.
- Nominees have served as a mentor to UTC students, faculty, or staff, in a formal or informal capacity, or to several junior or mid-career faculty over a continuous period.
- Faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible to receive this award once every three years.
- This award is given based on mentoring completed while employed at UTC.
Research Awards
- Nomination Process
- Nominator
- Must be a current or former UTC Faculty member.
- Submits a 250-word nomination letter describing the nominee's positive impact on their field through research or creative works.
- Nominee
- Provides a 250-word self-narrative with evidence of impact through research or creative works.
For self-nominees: Include a supporting letter from a current or former UTC Faculty member instead of nominator statement.
- Provides a 250-word self-narrative with evidence of impact through research or creative works.
- Application Materials
- Nominee and nominator statements.
- Scholarly Activity Report from Digital Measures (from only last three years).
- Supplemental materials such as but not limited to:
- Publications in highly recognized peer-review journals.
- Citation counts or download counts for electronic journals.
- Editorship, associate editorships, editorial board memberships, and/or invitations to act as journal reviewers for recognized, leading peer-review journals.
- Elections to leadership positions in academic and/or professional associations.
- Research awards and recognition.
- Invitations to participate in research conferences or to present creative endeavors, e.g. to play or sing an original musical piece or show original artwork.
- Adoptions and citations of the creative work, including its impact on the creative work of others.
- Adoption of textbooks or instructional software, use of research in doctoral seminars, or appointments as visiting professors or scholars at other institutions.
- Awards of competitive grants from major national or international agencies or third-party funding for research projects.
- Patent awards.
- Case studies of research that leads to the adoption of new teaching/learning practices.
- Research-based learning projects with companies and/or non-profit organizations, or company adoption and/or implementation of research findings.
Nominations will not be considered if they exceed word count limits.
- Nominator
- Lifetime Research Award
This award is given to full-time faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in research or creative works. Recipients of this award strive to advance knowledge in their field as they continually seek ways to improve their research. Faculty members with at least fifteen years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
- Non-Tenure-Track Research Award
This award is given to non-tenure-track faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in research or creative works. Recipients of this award strive to advance knowledge in their field as they continually seek ways to improve their research. Non-tenure-track faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
- Tenure-Track Research Award
This award is given to tenure-track faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in research or creative works. Recipients of this award strive to advance knowledge in their field as they continually seek ways to improve their research. Tenure-track faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
- Tenured Research Award
This award is given to tenured faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in research or creative works. Recipients of this award strive to advance knowledge in their field as they continually seek ways to improve their research. Tenured faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
Service Awards
- Nomination Process
- Nominator
- Must be a current or former UTC Faculty member.
- Submits a 250-word nomination letter describing the nominee's positive impact through service in their profession, community, or university.
- Nominee
- Provides a 250-word self-narrative with evidence of positive impact through service in their profession, community, or university.
- For self-nominees: Include a supporting letter from a current or former UTC Faculty member instead of nominator statement.
- Application Materials
- Nominee and nominator statements.
- Digital Measures Service Summary Report (from only last three years).
- Supplemental materials such as but not limited to:
- Editorships, associate editorships, or editorial board memberships for leading, peer-reviewed journals.
- Elections to leadership positions in academic or professional associations.
- Awards and recognitions related to service.
- Research-based learning projects with companies or non-profit organizations.
- Other examples of service impact.
Nominations will not be considered if they exceed word count limits.
- Nominator
- Lifetime Service Award
This award is given to full-time faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional service to their community, profession, or UTC. Full-time faculty members with at least fifteen years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
- Non-Tenure Track Service Award
This award is given to non-tenure-track faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional service to their community, profession, or UTC. Non-tenure-track faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
- Tenure-Track Service Award
This award is given to tenure-track faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional service to their community, profession, or UTC. Tenure-track faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
- Tenured Service Award
This award is given to tenured faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional service to their community, profession, or UTC. Tenured faculty members with at least three years of employment at UTC are eligible for this award. Library Faculty members are eligible for this award.
Teaching Awards
- Nomination Process
- Nominator
- Must be a current or former UTC Faculty member.
- Submits a 250-word nomination letter describing the nominee's positive impact through teaching.
- Nominee
- Self-narrative incorporating evidence of ongoing development as a teacher based on student evaluations and teaching philosophy (limit of 250 words).
- Course materials from the last 3-5 years, including but not limited to representative samples of the following:
- Faculty comments on student evaluations to be written by the nominee.
- Active learning examples.
- Projects.
- Syllabi.
- Application Materials
- Nominee and nominator statements.
- Faculty comments on student evaluations.
- Supplemental materials such as but not limited to:
- Peer review of teaching.
- Other evidence of effective teaching (e.g., awards, honors, recognitions).
- Evidence of engaging and/or creative/innovative approaches in the classroom (face to face or virtual).
- Active participation in discipline, program/degree and/or department curriculum process.
- Evidence of experiential learning and/or high impact practices.
- Invited lectures on pedagogy.
- Direction of honors theses, and/or graduate theses and dissertations.
- Professional development activities related to teaching and learning.
- Grants to redesign or innovate courses.
- Assessment results.
Nominations will not be considered if they exceed word count limits.
- Nominator
- Lifetime Teaching Award
This award is given to full-time faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching. Tenured faculty members with at least fifteen years of teaching at UTC are eligible for this award. Members of Library Faculty are eligible for this award, where librarianship takes the place of teaching.
- Adjunct Teaching Award
This award is given to adjunct faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching. Adjunct faculty members who have taught at least one class in each of the last three years are eligible for this award. Members of Library Faculty are eligible for this award, where librarianship takes the place of teaching.
- Non-Tenure-Track Teaching Award
This award is given to non-tenure-track faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching. Non-tenure-track faculty members with at least three years of teaching at UTC are eligible for this award. Members of Library Faculty are eligible for this award, where librarianship takes the place of teaching.
- Tenure-Track Teaching Award
This award is given to tenure-track faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching. Tenured faculty members with at least three years of teaching at UTC are eligible for this award. Members of Library Faculty are eligible for this award, where librarianship takes the place of teaching.
- Tenured Teaching Award
This award is given to tenured faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching. Tenured faculty members with at least three years of teaching at UTC are eligible for this award. Members of Library Faculty are eligible for this award, where librarianship takes the place of teaching.
2024-2025 Faculty Awards Committee
- Jamie Harvey, Chair
- Raga Ahmed
- Nicholas Boer
- Trevor Elliott
- Randy Evans
- Rachel Fleming
- Sarah Kantor
- Rachel Nall
- Andrea Neely
- Kelli Nelson
- Sydney Pittman