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Washington State University
College of Education

Faculty Excellence Awards

Faculty Excellence Awards

PURPOSE

The College of Education (COE) at Washington State University has established the College of Education Faculty Excellence Awards in order to recognize truly outstanding accomplishments, contributions, and exceptional scholastic achievements of COE faculty.  The awards are designed to honor faculty members who demonstrate the highest levels of leadership, performance, and excellence in pursuit of the college’s academic and professional goals and mission related to each award.

Nominations for the awards are solicited annually.  These categories are:

  • Faculty Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Faculty Excellence in Research
  • Faculty Excellence in Teaching
  • Faculty Excellence in Service
SELECTION COMMITTEE COMPOSITION & TERM OF SERVICE

The Selection Committee will be comprised of seven faculty members, two from each of the three departments in the college as well as the associate dean for academic affairs.  Each campus will be represented in these appointments.  The assistant to the dean will request appointment by the unit head from these units:

  • Department of Educational Leadership and Sport Management
  • Department of Kinesiology & Educational Psychology (includes PEACT)
  • Department of Teaching & Learning (includes field services and certification)

Beginning in 2020, recipients of the awards will be considered for appointment to the committee in the following year as long as they meet these representational membership requirements.  The term of service will be two years with approximately half of the membership returning each year.

SELECTION COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

The assistant to the dean schedules the meeting of the selection committee and ensures members have the application materials.  At that meeting each year, the committee will select one of its members to serve as “Chair.”  The Chair is responsible for facilitating the selection process and for conveying the committee’s selection to the dean.

AWARD ELIGIBILITY

All Career and Tenure Track faculty members of the College of Education are eligible for this award if they have been employed for more than 12 months at the time of nomination (.5 FTE or greater) and have not been recipients of the award within the past three years.  Adjunct faculty who meet these criteria and are more than .5 FTE are also eligible.  Administrative faculty, such as Associate Deans, Academic Directors, Chairs, or Assistant Chairs are eligible if their administrative load is .5 FTE or less.

NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

An eligible person can be nominated by any member of the College of Education faculty who has in-depth knowledge of the activities of the person. Self-nominations may also be made.

Each nominator is responsible for submitting their nomination to the College of Education nomination page at https://education.wsu.edu/college/facultystaffawards/facultyawards/, by March 18, with a complete two-page nomination form and a curriculum vita of the nominee, and other possible materials deemed useful in supporting the nominee’s contributions and achievements.

The selection committee may elect not to give an award if nominations are not received or if the evidence of excellence is not compelling.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS

Each award, consisting of a medallion, a certificate and letter of recognition from the dean of the college and a $1,000 cash award will be presented by the dean at an appropriate event as a way of recognizing the contribution of the recipient and of reaffirming the college’s dedication to excellence in its activities. The name and award of each recipient will be placed on a plaque that will be prominently displayed in the College of Education.

Nominees who were not selected shall receive letters of notification in the week following the awards ceremony to inform them that they were nominated.


Descriptions of Individual Awards

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Purpose: The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward faculty who have made significant contributions for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, broadly conceived, as an essential component of the college’s vision and quest for excellence.

Criteria: Successful nominees should have taken a leadership role beyond the expectations of their position. Examples include but are not limited to:

  1. Demonstrate efforts to advocate for or bring about change on issues regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, within their academic unit, campus, or community.
  2. Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion via their scholarship or other substantive contributions.
  3. Demonstrate a commitment to promoting access, equity, and success for all people as embraced by the mission of the College of Education.
  4. Demonstrate how they have used their knowledge of and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,  to contribute to shifts in knowledge and perspective and develop a more vibrant college, university, and/or community culture.
Research

Purpose: The College of Education Faculty Excellence Award for Research is presented to members of the faculty in the College in recognition of excellence and outstanding accomplishment in research, scholarship, or other types of creative activity.

Criteria: This award will be given for a research or creative contribution completed as a member of the College of Education at Washington State University.  Activities encompassed by this award may be empirical, theoretical, and/or artistic.  They may be either an outstanding singular accomplishment or a record of excellence over a period of years.  Examples include but are not limited to: A novel or creative contribution to their field .

  1. A novel or creative contribution to their field.
  2. A research, scholarly, or creative contribution with a significant impact on their field.
  3. A contribution recognized through invited addresses, honors, or stature in their field.
  4. Significant or continuous grant funding that may also include any of the above.
Teaching

Purpose: The College of Education Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching is presented to a member of the faculty in recognition of truly outstanding accomplishment in the establishment of excellence within the instructional programs of the College of Education.  Nominees for this award must have been observed in the act of teaching by the nominator or their peers (e.g., a written evaluation from a peer may support the nomination).  Student testimonials should align with overall course evaluations.

Criteria: Activities encompassed by this award may be either an outstanding singular accomplishment or a record of excellence over a period of years which may include:

  1. Curriculum and course development.
  2. Innovation and originality.
  3. Enthusiasm for and during teaching.
  4. Interest in, care and concern for, and availability to students.
  5. Range of teaching performance, including undergraduate, graduate, peer, and professional contexts.
  6. Duration of demonstrated excellence.
  7. Evidence of high quality, effectiveness, and/or influence of instruction on student learning outcomes.
Service

Purpose: The intent of the College of Education Faculty Excellence Award for Service is to recognize the outstanding performance by a College of Education faculty member  toward fulfilling the College’s service or outreach mission. The award serves to honor exceptional service accomplishments through activities directed toward enhancing instruction, research, program development, capacity for collaboration with community partners, service to the profession, or  a variety of other possibilities  both within and beyond the college and university.

Criteria: Activities encompassed by this award are either an outstanding singular accomplishment or a collective record of excellence in service which has a major impact on the College of Education, the University, the profession, or the community.  Contributions may include:

  1. Developing successful new ideas for extended university services and activities.
  2. Revitalizing an existing service program.
  3. Enhancing the public’s appreciation of the College of Education within and beyond the university.
  4. Service in a national role with a demonstrable influence on the profession (e.g., president of a national organization).
  5. Substantially supporting/improving education within the community (e.g., work in local schools or community organizations).

 

Nomination Forms

Nominations closed on March 18.