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SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Awards

Overview

The SCHEV Virginia Outstanding Faculty Awards are designed to recognize faculty member excellence in teaching, research, and service among Virginia's public and private colleges and universities. Outstanding Faculty Award nominees must possess a record of outstanding accomplishment as a faculty member in Virginia, reflective of the nominee's institutional mission. In addition, this outstanding accomplishment must reflect four areas of scholarly endeavor: teaching, research, integration, and service. 

The Outstanding Faculty Awards include two separate awards:

  • Outstanding Faculty Award: A nominee in this category must demonstrate excellence in the four areas of scholarly endeavor: teaching, research, integration and service.
  • Rising Star Award: A Rising Star nominee must be in no more than his/her sixth year of continuous service as a full-time faculty member, and no less than his/her third year of continuous service as a full-time faculty member in Virginia (i.e., no more than 6 years, total, as a higher education instructor, but at least 3 years at a Virginia institution). A nominee in this category must demonstrate excellence in the four areas of scholarly endeavor: teaching, research, integration and service.

More information about the Outstanding Faculty Awards, including nomination guidelines, is available on SCHEV OFA.

Award

Winners receive $5,000 and are recognized at a reception in Richmond.

Nomination Limitation

Virginia Tech can nominate a maximum of 6 faculty members for the Outstanding Faculty Awards, plus one faculty member for the Rising Star Award.

General Nomination Criteria

The following General Nomination Criteria applies to both award types: Outstanding Faculty Award and Rising Star Award. For more specific details, see SCHEV OFA.

  1. A nominee must possess a record of superior accomplishment in the four areas of scholarly endeavor described by Ernest Boyer: teaching, discovery, integration and service. 
    • Teaching: A record of superior accomplishment in the scholarship of TEACHING should contain clear and compelling evidence related to (a) instruction and (b) student development and learning. PLease note that, according to the Nomination Guidelines, "OFA no longer has a specific 'Teaching with Technology' category. If a nominee is partcularly proficient in the use of technology in teaching, evidence of this should be integrated into the record of teaching accomplishments" (p. 3)
    • Discovery: A record of superior accomplishment in the scholarship of DISCOVERY should contain clear and compelling evidence related to (a) scholarly works (objective, subjective, and/or artistic) and (b) scholarly activities (new knowledge and research).
    • Integration: A record of superior accomplishment in the scholarship of KNOWLEDGE INTEGRATION should contain clear and compelling evidence related to (a) curricular development, including placing the nominee's discipline in larger interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary contexts, and (b) meaningful connections between a nominee's discovery and teaching.
    • Service: A record of superior accomplishment in the scholarship of SERVICE should contain clear and compelling evidence related to the application of knowledge and expertise in the broader contexts of (a) institution, (b) community/society, and (c) professional service. 
  2. A nominee's record of superior accomplishment must demonstrate clear and compelling evidence of the nature, level and/or degree of a nominee's (a) involvement/participation, (b) effectiveness/success, (c) impact/achievement, and (d) recognition/acknowledgement in the areas of teaching, discovery, integration and service. The nature, level and/or degree of this evidence must also be reflective of his/her institution's type and mission.

Specific Nomination Criteria

Beyond the general nominating criteria, nominees must also meet the following criteria.

  • A nominee in the Outstanding Faculty Award category must possess a record of superior accomplishment that strongly reflects the mission of his/her institution. A nominee's accomplishments will be judged in relation to the nature/type of his/her nominating institution. 
  • A nominee in the Rising Star category must be in no more than his/her sixth year and no less than his/her third year of continuous service as a full-time faculty member in Virginia. A nominee in this category will be judged in each of the four aforementioned areas: teaching, discovery, integration and service.