The annual faculty awards are an attempt on the part of the faculty to recognize outstanding professionalism among its peers. The faculty recognize that exceptional professionalism is measured by different criteria in different disciplines; however, it is the opinion of the faculty that it is extremely important that, regardless of how it is measured, professionalism be recognized. These awards provide a public recognition for quality, as defined by colleagues, peers and fellow professors.
Annually, a circular medallion attached to an appropriate ribbon is presented by the Provost, during the Fall Assembly, to the selected faculty members. The medallion will be appropriate for, and should be worn as a part of, the recipients' academic regalia. The medallion should be inscribed, "Distinguished University Scholar, [year]," or "Distinguished University Teacher, [year]," and "Outstanding Teacher, [year]". Special parking and a small stipend may also be included for all award winners. In addition, the Distinguished University Scholar, Distinguished University Teacher and Outstanding Teacher of the Year may be invited to give short lectures during Fall Convocation.
Procedure
At the beginning of each Spring Semester, each college's promotion and tenure committee will call for nominations for the college's Distinguished Scholar of the Year, Distinguished Teacher of the Year, and Outstanding Teacher of the Year. Each college's promotion and tenure committee will decide how the nomination process will work within their purview (whether that be an open nomination process or one in which departments forward nominees to the college's P&T committee). Only tenured and tenured-track faculty that have been at Texas A&M International University for at least three calendar years will be eligible for the Distinguished Scholar and Teacher of the Year awards. For the Outstanding Teacher instructors, lecturers, and fixed-term professionals must have been employed by Texas A&M International University for at least three years.
Nominees for college Distinguished Scholar of the Year, Distinguished Teacher of the Year, and Outstanding Teacher of the Year will be required to submit a brief (no more than 20 pages) portfolio highlighting their achievements (similar to the promotion/tenure portfolio) for the use of the respective P&T committees in the decision-making process. Nominees for Distinguished Scholar of the Year must include evidence regarding scholarly and creative accomplishments over a period of three calendar years (ending with the year covered in the most recent PPE), and the candidates will be judged on their accomplishments over that three-year period.
College P&T committees will meet no later than February 15 to review nominees' portfolios and select the college Distinguished Scholar and Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Teacher of the Year award recipients. The College of Arts and Sciences will choose two Scholars and two Teachers of the Year; the A.R. Sanchez School of Business, the College of Education, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University College and Killam Library will each choose one Scholar and one Teacher of the Year. These winners then become the nominees for the Distinguished University Scholar and the Distinguished University Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Teacher of the Year.
Once College / School award recipients have been designated, the chair of each college's P&T committee will forward their colleagues' names in a recommendation letter to the chair of the Awards Committee. The Awards Committee will appoint a team of highly qualified faculty (not necessarily senators) who will observe and report on the classroom instruction of all college winners for Distinguished Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Teacher of the Year. The college winners will arrange these observation sessions with the appointed team during the last two weeks of March. The nominee's observation reports will be added to the portfolios prior to Faculty Senate review. The Distinguished Scholar of the Year, Distinguished Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Teacher of the Year portfolios will be made available to members of the Faculty Senate for their information and review during the last two weeks of April.
At the May meeting of the Faculty Senate, the entire Senate will vote for a Distinguished University Scholar of the Year, Distinguished University Teacher of the Year, and Outstanding Teacher of the Year from the nominees for each award. Senators who are in the running for one of the awards and senators who have not read all the portfolios will not participate in the voting. Award recipients, as well as the college winners in all three categories, will be announced at Fall Assembly. Once recognized as Distinguished University Scholar or Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Teacher of the Year, faculty members will not be eligible for consideration for any additional faculty award for three years.