Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

Purpose

The Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching will be presented to an outstanding faculty member from each UM system institution. While each institution has flexibility in selecting its award recipient, the following criteria are recommended:

• Effective teaching
• Effective advising
• Service to the university community
• Commitment to high standards of excellence
• Success in nurturing student achievement

The UM system President will recognize the four award recipients (one from each campus) at the June Board of Curators meeting.

Eligibility

Nominee must be a current, full-time, tenure-track or non-tenure track, faculty member with at least five years teaching service at Mizzou.

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)
3. Supporting letters (limited to three) from nominee’s chair and/or dean, colleagues, staff members and students (current or former)
4. Nominee’s personal philosophy of teaching statement (limited to 2 pages)
   • explicitly outlining his/her instructional goals, instructional strategies and methods of bringing current research into the instructional process
5. List of courses taught and the number of students in each, as well as other instructional and advising activities during the preceding five years
6. 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.  
7. Nominee’s curriculum vitae (limited to most recent five 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: YearGovTchng_LastFirst (e.g., 2026GovTchng_TigerTruman).

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

Past Recipients