Selection Process and Timeline for 2010 KSU Foundation Distinguished Teaching, Scholarship and Service Faculty Recipients

AWARD OVERVIEW

Our faculty awards for university-wide distinguished teaching, research & creative activity, and professional service provide a mechanism for honoring excellence in the areas that are central to KSU's mission.  Exemplary teaching, research & creative activity, and professional service contribute mightily to the real difference faculty make in the life and education of students as well as the lives of people, within and outside the academy.  University level winners and finalists will receive the following awards:

• The winner of the KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Teaching Award receives a substantial cash award from the KSU Foundation ($6,500 in 2009) and access to an expense account ($6,500 in 2009), which is administered through the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, to support professional travel, instructional materials, research supplies, or computer hardware and software.
• The winners of the KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Research & Creative Activity and Professional Service Awards each receive a substantial cash award ($5,000 each in 2009) from the KSU Foundation, which is equally divided if an award is given to a collaborative team, and access to an expense account ($5,000 each in 2009), which is administered through the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, to support professional travel, instructional materials, research supplies, or computer hardware and software.

Finalists for each of the university-wide distinguished awards receive a $500 cash award from the KSU Foundation as well as access to a $1,000 expense account of state money.

 

SELECTION PROCESS OVERVIEW

Using the criteria established by the Faculty Development and Awards Committee (FDAC), each college will select an award recipient for distinguished teaching, research and creative activity, and professional service at the college level.  In addition, the graduate dean will coordinate the selection of award recipients for distinguished teaching, research and creative activity, and professional service, from among the graduate faculty. The winners of the college and graduate college awards will automatically be the semi-finalists for the University-Wide Distinguished Teaching, Research & Creative Activity, and Professional Service awards.

 

AWARD ELIGIBILITY

• Any full-time regular faculty member (lecturer, tenure-track, or tenured) who has completed a minimum of five full and consecutive academic years under contract as a regular faculty member at KSU prior to being nominated.  Temporary faculty are not eligible and years under contract as a temporary faculty member do not count toward eligibility requirements.
• The awards will be presented during the 2010 opening of university faculty meeting.  Recipients must be under contract at KSU during the 2010-2011 academic year in order to receive any part of the award.
• Once a faculty member has received the distinguished teaching, research and creative activity, or professional service award from a particular constituency (college, graduate college, or university-wide), he or she will not be eligible for the same award from that constituency for five years.
• If an award winner for distinguished teaching, research and creative activity, or professional service for a college or the graduate college is not selected as the university-wide recipient of that award, he or she will continue to be eligible for the university-wide award in that category for the next two years.  He or she will be invited to submit updated application materials to the FDAC each year.
  

SELECTION PROCESS FOR COLLEGE AWARDS

1. Working with the faculty, each college dean and the graduate dean will establish a process (e.g., a Faculty Awards Committee) that will coordinate the nomination and selection for its respective awards. At least one representative that participated in the process for each college should also be a current member of the University Faculty Development and Awards Committee to aid with the interpretation of criteria and to bring continuity to the review process from the college to university level. At a minimum, each department or program within a college will identify one or more nominees who will submit supporting documentation for the award.  Identification of nominees should be based upon input from teaching and administrative faculty, staff, and students and their eligibility as defined above. 
2. Nominees for each award will be asked to submit the following materials.  NOTE: College selection committees should verify adherence to the following guidelines when reviewing nominee materials. Narratives and supporting documentation that are not consistent with these instructions will not be considered by the FDAC:
   1. A cover page that includes the nominee’s name and department, and the award program for which the materials are forwarded (University-Wide Distinguished Teaching, Research & Creative Activity, or Professional Service).
   2. A current copy of their curriculum vita. The vita must highlight those articles that are relevant to the award category and criteria and indicate those in peer-reviewed publications.
   3. An application narrative of no more than 5 double-spaced pages (1 in. margins; 12 point font) that addresses the nominee's strengths and accomplishments with respect to each of the award criteria.
   4. Supporting documentation of no more than 20 single-sided pages that relates to the award criteria. Supporting materials must clearly document the quality and impact of the candidate’s work and not simply reflect appreciation or listing of accomplishments without explaining the impact.  For example, simply including flyers describing events or “thank you” letters that don’t address the impact are insufficient for documenting impact.  This documentation must include at a minimum two letters of support: (1) a current letter by the nominee's department chair evaluating the nominee's accomplishments and impact in the area for which he or she is nominated; and (2) a letter from an off-campus colleague addressing the nominee’s accomplishments and impact.  Nominees should not include past administrative evaluations (e.g., 3rd year reviews; tenure, promotion, or post-tenure reviews; annual reviews).
      
      
3. Using the application materials described above, each college and the graduate college will select one winner for each of the distinguished awards.  The selection must be based upon the criteria cited below in order to maintain consistency within the review and selection process at the college and university levels.
   
   

The College Deans and the Dean of Graduate Studies (or their designated chair of the college faculty awards committee) are responsible for submitting the names of all 2010 college recipients and a single electronic copy (PDF only) of each recipient’s application materials to the CETL Executive Director (Bill Hill, bhill@kennesaw.edu).  It will be the responsibility of the individual submitting the pdf file to ascertain that the materials are complete and adhere to the university guidelines for length and formatting. Applications that do not adhere to the university-wide guidelines for length and formatting will not be considered by the FDAC.  The CETL Director will forward applications to the Chair of the University FDAC. 

The University FDAC Committee will recommend a University-Wide winner and up to three finalists (or runner ups) for each of the university-wide distinguished awards from among these individuals and those faculty with continuing eligibility from the last two years who submit a portfolio.  If no candidates forwarded by colleges meet the criteria below in the majority opinion of the FDAC, the FDAC may not recommend a recipient for 2010.  The names and application materials for the university-wide winners and finalists are then forwarded to the President, Provost, and KSU Foundation for subsequent announcement at the Fall Opening of University faculty meeting.  All selections are confidential until the awards ceremony.

 

2009-2010 TIMEFRAME FOR NOMINATION AND SELECTION FOR KSU FOUNDATION UNIVERSITY-WIDE DISTINGUISHED TEACHING, RESEARCH & CREATIVE ACTIVITY, AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AWARDS

CRITERIA FOR AWARD SELECTION AT COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LEVELS

KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Teaching Award
The principal university award for excellence in teaching is the KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Teaching Award. Teaching engages both teachers and students in learning through group instruction, individual instruction, student supervision, mentoring, advising, counseling and curricular or pedagogical innovation. Candidates for this award must demonstrate a sustained and significant impact in each of the award criteria over their career, including a minimum period of 5 years at KSU.  Award criteria are:

• Consistent excellent performance as evidenced by student success and appreciation; peer and/or administrative review; and student accomplishments.
• Development and implementation of innovative pedagogy that exhibits creativity, honors individuality and diversity; addresses current practice, trends, and issues in one’s discipline and higher education; and is based on evidence that it facilitates student learning.
• Sustained impact on teaching and the improvement of instruction and curriculum as shown through adopting and evaluating effective teaching practices, sharing and disseminating one’s teaching expertise and innovations with others through professional peer-reviewed presentations and publications (i.e., evidence of the scholarship of teaching & learning), developing special projects and curricula, and mentoring other faculty.

KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Research & Creative Activity Award
The principal university award for excellence in research and creative activity is the KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Research & Creative Activity Award. This award  encompasses a diverse and multidimensional array of research and creative activities through which faculty make significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge, understanding, problem-solving, aesthetics, and pedagogy.  Candidates for this award must demonstrate a sustained and significant impact in each of the award criteria over their career, including a minimum period of 5 years at KSU.  Award criteria are:

• Consistent excellent performance as evidenced by the level of activity in and commitment to research and/or creative activity; the quality of research and/or creative activities; and the strength and depth of expertise
• Evidence of sustained leadership in the advancement of research and/or creative activity that exhibits dissemination and adoption of one's research and/or creative activity by others; mentoring other faculty and students; sharing expertise with others; and holding positions that recognize the nominee's research and/or creative activity
• Impact and significance of research and/or creative work as evidenced through peer-reviewed publications, presentations, performances, creative works, grants and contracts (i.e., the scholarship of discovery), citations by other professionals, and adoptions.

KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Professional Service Award
The principal university award for excellence in professional service is the KSU Foundation University-Wide Distinguished Professional Service Award.  This award recognizes individuals who have excelled in either of two categories of Professional Service or a combination of the two:

1. Individuals who have established a record of professional service that demonstrates substantial external significance with national, regional, and/or state leadership and/or recognition.  Candidates for this award in this category must demonstrate a sustained and significant impact in each of the award criteria over their career, including a minimum period of 5 years at KSU.  Award criteria are:
   • Consistent excellent performance as evidenced by the level of professional service activity, commitment to the quality of the service provided, and breadth and depth of the service record.
   • Evidence of sustained impact through substantial leadership in multiple professional service activities, or, in exceptional cases, evidence of outstanding leadership and impact in a single major service activity.
   • Impact and significance of professional service as evidenced by the perceived importance of work by others; contribution to organizational improvement and advancement; public recognition; and dissemination through peer-reviewed presentations and publications (i.e., the scholarship of professional service).
2. Individuals who have established a record of professional service that demonstrates substantial service to Kennesaw State University through a combination of departmental, college, and institutional service and leadership.  Candidates for this award in this category must demonstrate a sustained and significant impact in each of the award criteria over their career at KSU, including a minimum period of 5 years at KSU.  Award criteria are:
   • Consistent excellent performance as evidenced by the level of professional service activity, commitment to the quality of the service provided, and breadth and depth of the service record.
   • Evidence of sustained impact through substantial leadership in multiple professional service activities at all levels of institutional service (departmental, college, and institutional.
   • Impact and significance of professional service as evidenced by the perceived importance of work by departmental, college, and institutional colleagues; demonstrated contribution to departmental, college, and institutional improvement and advancement; public recognition; and dissemination through peer-reviewed presentations and publications (i.e., the scholarship of professional service).