Maxine Christopher Shutz Award and Lecture for Distinguished Teaching

Purpose

As a result of the generosity of the late Byron T. and Maxine Christopher Shutz, an endowment was established in 1982 to recognize distinguished teachers from the Columbia campus. The award will be presented to a faculty member who has demonstrated extra efforts to involve undergraduates in active learning experiences and to personalize the undergraduate experience of students.

The Maxine Christopher Shutz award was given every two years from 1997-2003, and will now be awarded every year.

Award

The award is in the amount of $2,000, less applicable taxes. In addition to the monetary award, the recipient will be required to deliver a public address following a dinner in his or her honor.

Eligibility

Open to all full-time faculty throughout the Columbia campus.

Nomination and Submission

This section outlines who can nominate individuals for this award and what to include in the nomination packet. As you prepare packets, please keep the purpose of the award and any listed criteria in mind. In many cases, there are length guidelines in place for packet components (e.g., include a letter of nomination that is no longer than 2 pages, double-spaced). The overall length of a packet is not of importance to the selection committee – the focus should instead be on providing convincing evidence of the nominee’s accomplishments and contributions. An unsuccessful nomination packet may be updated and resubmitted up to three times within a 5-year period, per award (i.e., Professor Truman the Tiger is not selected in the first year the packet is submitted and can now be resubmitted for the same award two more times within the next 4 years).

Who can Nominate for this Award:

Faculty colleagues, students, departments, schools/colleges, or recognized campus organizations may nominate individuals.

What to Include in the Nomination Packet for this Award: 

1. Submission Requirements Form
2. Nomination/Cover Letter (limited to 2 double-spaced pages)
   • Describe the characteristics of the nominee that serve to justify his/her being recognized
3. Nominee’s personal philosophy of teaching statement, explicitly outlining his/her instructional goals, instructional strategies and methods of bringing current research into the instructional process. Statement should not exceed two double-spaced pages.
4. List of courses taught during the preceding five years
5. Data from two or more instruments that evaluate instructional activity (limited to the past five years). For example, student evaluations of teaching, peer observations of teaching, results of assessment of student learning, or other relevant methods of evaluation. Do not include copies of individual student or course forms/sheets. If including student evaluations of teaching, please use the Student Feedback on Teaching Chart (for all courses taught before Fall 2023). Also, please use this Student Feedback on Teaching Chart (for all courses taught beginning Fall 2023). Data for courses taught beginning Fall 2023 should come directly from the Construct Mean table on the Feedback on Instruction and Course form.  
6. Letters of recommendation (limited to 3)
7. Nominee’s curriculum vitae (limited to most recent 5 years)

Submission Process and Deadline:

The annual deadline for this award is January 15 (due the following business day when falls on a weekend or holiday).

Nomination packets for this award must be submitted by the Divisional Dean, who may establish an earlier deadline. The Divisional Dean will submit the nomination packet as a single PDF attachment via email to UMCProvostAwards@missouri.edu. The PDF file should be named as follows:YearShutz_LastFirst (e.g., 2026Shutz_TigerTruman)

Please contact us at UMCProvostAwards@missouri.edu with any questions.

Past Recipients