Overview

A well-crafted nomination for this award would clearly address sustained excellence and innovation in undergraduate teaching and contributions to undergraduate learning beyond classroom instruction. These are the principal campus awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching. Up to 15 recipients will be chosen (5 tenure-system faculty, 5  specialized faculty and 5 graduate teaching assistants). The award consists of an honorarium and a personalized commemorative plaque.

Eligibility

Faculty:

• Tenure-system or specialized faculty who has:
  • taught on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least 5 years as of the first day of the current academic year.
  • not won this award in the previous 10 years.

Teaching Assistants:

• Taught on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least two semesters as of the first day of the current academic year. The semesters need not have been taught consecutively.
• Teaching Assistants who have completed their degree requirements and graduate in the calendar year prior to the February 1^st nomination deadline are also eligible.

Evaluation Criteria

• Sustained excellence in undergraduate teaching;
• Innovative approaches to undergraduate teaching;
• The overall positive impact on undergraduate student learning;
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; and,
• Other contributions to improve undergraduate instruction (e.g., engaging students in the classroom; developing courses and curricula; mentoring graduate teaching assistants; leading workshops on pedagogy; advancing the scholarship of teaching and learning; or making other multidimensional contributions beyond the classroom, laboratory, or studio; etc.)

Nominations

A nomination may be submitted by students, faculty members, administrators, or alumni, and should be submitted to a departmental selection committee.

Any academic unit offering undergraduate instruction may nominate no more than one tenure-system faculty candidate and no more than one specialized faculty candidate; however, more than one graduate teaching assistant may be nominated.

Individuals nominated during a particular year should not be serving on the departmental selection committee during that same year.

Nomination packets must include all materials described below Please follow this outline when submitting a nomination:

• The standard cover page (Attachment A) with the appropriate signatures.
• A nomination letter addressing each of the Evaluation Criteria described above. The nomination letter should indicate why the nominee is exceptional as an excellent teacher of undergraduate students. (Not to exceed 3 pages.)
• A teaching and learning philosophy statement provided by the nominee including a well-articulated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. (Not to exceed 2 pages.)
• Two letters of support* from current or past undergraduate students (preferably one current student and one alumnus). (See Attachment C for a sample solicitation letter.) (Not to exceed 2 pages each.)

*Letters from students should be solicited by the departmental selection committee, not the nominee. The nominee may be asked to suggest names.

Attachments

Attachment A: Nomination Cover Sheet (you must download the form to complete it)
Attachment B: Sample Letter Request from Former Student

Previous Recipients

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.