U.S. Professor of the Year

Purpose

This nomination process is designed to recognize three outstanding undergraduate instructors for superior teaching at Mizzou. Faculty selected will represent MU as nominees for the U.S. Professors of the Year, sponsored by CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Nominees will be honored during the 2017 Celebration of Teaching and Learning in May, 2017.

NO NOMINATIONS WILL BE SOUGHT FOR 2017 WHILE CASE UNDERGOES STRATEGIC PLANNING.

Eligibility

Nominees must be involved in teaching and advising students. Nominees are only eligible if they are:

  • Instructors who have previously received campus, regional or national awards for teaching
  • Instructors holding full-time, tenured, tenure track or non-tenure track appointments

Nominations

Each Division may submit no more than two nominations. Nominations and supporting materials must be submitted by the divisional dean. Submit nomination materials in electronic format as “unlocked” PDF email attachments. Materials will not be returned; therefore, the divisional office should retain an editable copy of nomination materials for possible future use. Unsuccessful nominations may be updated and resubmitted in successive years. The award selection committee will rate entries for extraordinary work in undergraduate teaching using the following criteria:

  • Impact on and involvement with undergraduate students (25 percent)
  • A scholarly approach to teaching and learning (25 percent)
  • Contributions to undergraduate education in MU, the community and the profession (25 percent)
  • Support from colleagues and current and former undergraduate students (25 percent).

Based upon the requirements for U.S. Professors of the Year Awards Program, nomination materials include:

  1. Nomination document that includes the following information for the candidate:
    • Name with appropriate prefix/suffix
    • Title
    • Postal address
    • Phone number
    • Fax number
    • Email address
  2. One-page curriculum vitae (resume). This should be a concise summary of the professor’s education, teaching experience, other teaching awards, publications, service and other significant contributions. You may summarize this information using a biographical format. Keep the focus on teaching. Include the names of publications, articles, or books; summarize the rest. The judges will review ONLY the first page of any multiple-page vitae; condense the information to one page only.
  3. 2016-17 academic year teaching log with list of course titles, levels, and brief description of each course the instructor is teaching.
  4. Nominee’s personal statement. Each candidate must write a personal statement describing a key contribution made as an undergraduate teacher. This statement should give a clear picture of the candidate’s work with students and should be one to two pages only, typed and double-spaced. Examples include:
    • Innovative techniques developed to assess student learning and to provide feedback
    • A created course or a revised curriculum
    • Examples of effective advising and mentoring techniques
    • Innovative teaching techniques shared with other teachers
    • Steps taken to extend the learning process beyond the classroom
    • Creative ways teaching draws upon one’s research or public service
    • Contributions to peer discussions of teaching and learning and/or course design, through publication, presentations, websites, etc.
  5. Six letters of support (one to two pages each). Letters should discuss the professor’s success in and dedication to teaching, plus give specific examples of how the professor fulfills the award program’s criteria. Letters should be recent and relevant to the criteria. Letters of support may be addressed to the provost or to the MU Nominees for Professors of the Year Awards Selection Committee. If the selection committee receives more than five letters, the extras will be removed. Photos, videos, books, and other materials also will be excluded. This set of five letters should include:
    • Two letters from current or former undergraduate students
    • One letter from campus colleagues
    • One letter from the division nominator that may be adopted/adapted for the provost nomination
    • Two letters from supporters on campus, in the community or in the nominee’s profession

Additional Resources

Submissions Deadline: NO NOMINATIONS ARE SOUGHT FOR 2017.

Submit nomination materials as unlocked PDF attachment to muprovostawards@missouri.edu, naming each document starting with the applicant’s last name followed by a document reference (i.e., Jones-ProfofYear application).

The documents will be made available to MU’s selection committee and finalists will be identified in February 2016. The provost’s office will oversee submissions of the final nominations to the Professor of the Year Awards Program.

Send only the original copy of the entire proposal packet to:

Office of the Provost
116 Jesse Hall
573-882-6597