Overview
A well-crafted nomination for this award would clearly address sustained excellence and innovation in undergraduate advising. Up to two recipients will be selected to receive this award: one tenure-system faculty member or an individual with a non-primary advising role, and one professional academic advisor. The award consists of an honorarium and a personalized commemorative plaque.
Calendar*
Nominations are only accepted from colleges. Contact your college to determine its deadline for departmental submissions.
February 1 – Deadline for college nominations to be submitted.
Early March – Recipient(s) and their nominator(s) will be notified.
April – Awards are presented at the annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence.
*When a deadline falls on a weekend or campus holiday, nominations will be due the next business day.
Eligibility
Faculty:
- Tenure-system faculty member at Illinois or individual with a non-primary advising role
- Served as an academic advisor at the undergraduate level on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least 5 years
- Has not won this award in the previous 10 years
Professional Advisors:
- Served as an academic advisor at the undergraduate level on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least 5 years
- Has not won this award in the previous 10 years
- Graduate Assistant advisors are not eligible for this award
Evaluation Criteria
- Sustained excellence in undergraduate advising
- Major impact on undergraduate students and their intellectual development through sustained academic advising relationships
- Innovative approaches to undergraduate advising
- Other contributions to improve undergraduate advising (e.g., engaging students in innovative advising activities; developing student advising materials; leading workshops on student advising; impacting other student advisers; or impacting departmental or college advising methods; etc.)
Nominations
A nomination may be submitted by students, faculty members, administrators, or alumni, and should be submitted to a departmental selection committee.* (See Selection section below for additional information.)
*The selection committee should include at least one graduate student member. Note that faculty members who have been nominated during a particular year should not serve on the committee during that same year.
Nomination packets must include all materials described below, and should be formatted in 12-point Times New Roman or equivalent font; single-spaced; and 1-inch margins. Please follow this outline when submitting a nomination:
- The standard cover page (Attachment A) with the appropriate signatures. (Not to exceed 1 page.)
- A nomination letter addressing each of the Evaluation Criteria described above. The nomination letter should indicate why the nominee is exceptional as an excellent advisor of undergraduate students. (Not to exceed 3 pages.)
- A philosophy statement provided by the nominee. This statement should include a discussion of the challenges, methods, and goals of undergraduate advising. (Not to exceed 2 pages.)
- Two letters of support* from students, preferably one from a student currently enrolled at Illinois and one from an alumnus. (See Attachment C for a sample solicitation letter.) (Not to exceed 2 pages each.)
*NOTE: Letters from students should be solicited by the departmental selection committee, not the nominee. The nominee may be asked to suggest some names and the department should add some names.
Attachments
Attachment A: Nomination Cover Sheet (you must download the form from Box to complete it)
Attachment C: Sample Letter Request from Former Student
Submission
Nominations should be submitted first to a departmental committee. This committee will select its final candidates to forward to the college. (The college may establish a limit for the number of candidates each departmental committee can submit.)
A college committee, which should include at least one undergraduate student member, will select the final candidate nominations to submit to campus.
Nominations are only accepted from colleges and must be submitted to tab-awards@illinois.edu. The nomination deadline is 11:59 p.m. February 1. If this date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is 11:59 p.m. the next business day.
Selection
The campus selection process is overseen by the Teaching Advancement Board, and is advisory to the Provost. Recipient(s) and their nominator(s) will be notified by early March. Awards are presented at the annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence.
Previous Recipients
Award Recipient | Department | Award Year |
---|---|---|
Paul Davidson | Agricultural & Biological Engineering | 2022 |
Amy O’Neill | Kinesiology & Community Health | 2022 |
Merissa Milton | Physics | 2021 |
Barbara Anderson | Human Development Family Studies | 2021 |
Neil Baer | Communication | 2020 |
Becky Meline | Nuclear, Plasma, & Radiological Engineering | 2020 |
Melissa Biehl | Mechanical Science & Engeineering | 2019 |
Kathi Ritten | Speech & Hearing Science | 2019 |
Laura Gerhold | Aerospace Engineering | 2018 |
Pamela Greer | Liberal Arts & Sciences | 2018 |
Cassie Meinert | Kinesiology & Community Health | 2017 |
Alicia Rodriguez | Latina/Latino Studies | 2017 |
Stephen Herzog | Computer Science | 2016 |
Sascha Hilgenfeldt | Mechanical Science & Engineering | 2016 |
Carol Firkins | Community Health | 2015 |
Richard Gorvett | Mathematics | 2015 |
Walter Hurley | Animal Sciences | 2014 |
Tonya Swink | School of Integrative Biology | 2014 |
Emad Jassim | Mechanical Science & Engineering | 2013 |
David Miller | Animal Sciences | 2013 |
Barbara Hall | Communication | 2012 |
Linda Lehovec | Dance | 2012 |
Liang Liu | Civil & Environmental Engineering | 2011 |
Umberto Ravaioli | Engineering Administration | 2011 |
Gary Wszalek | Psychology | 2010 |
Robert C. Steltman | English | 2009 |
Carl H. Niekerk | Germanic Languages & Literatures | 2008 |
James W. Phillips | Mechanical Science & Engineering | 2008 |
Gary D. Spezia | School of Integrative Biology | 2008 |
Deneen DeMarie | Psychology | 2007 |
Charles L. Tucker III | Mechanical Science & Engineering | 2007 |
Darrel J. Kesler | Animal Sciences | 2006 |
Kathi Ritten | Speech & Hearing Sciences | 2006 |
Linda F. Hasib | Aviation | 2005 |
Samuel N. Kamin | Computer Science | 2005 |
Donna F. Nichols | Mechanical & Industrial Engineering | 2004 |
Kathryn A. Martensen | Liberal Arts & Sciences | 2004 |
Matthew W. Lessig | Liberal Arts & Sciences | 2003 |
Rosalie S. Schmitt | Education | 2003 |
Keith D. Hjelmstad | Civil & Environmental Engineering | 2002 |
Carol H. Firkins | Community Health | 2002 |
E. Graham Evans, Jr. | Mathematics | 2001 |
Phyllis VanLandingham | Liberal Arts & Sciences | 2001 |
Arthur L. Kaha | Architecture | 2000 |
Sharon D. Michalove | History | 2000 |
Bruce C. Wheeler | Electrical & Computer Engineering | 2000 |
John P. Fiore | Psychology | 1999 |
Michael H. Pleck | General Engineering | 1999 |
Marie A. Golla | Liberal Arts & Sciences | 1998 |
Assistance
For more information about Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction, contact the Office of the Provost at tab-awards@illinois.edu or 217-333-6677.