Today, we are pleased to announce the eleventh year of formal recognition by the University of Great Teachers.

Temple students and faculty recognize extraordinary teaching and appreciate its result -- extraordinary learning. But in the culture of academia, all too often teaching is less publicly rewarded than published research, and there is little recognition of the interconnections between scholarly excellence and teaching excellence. Rewards and awards, including tenure and promotion, are frequently weighted more heavily toward research publications than teaching. With the Great Teacher Awards, we recognize and honor Temple's excellent teachers on behalf of our students.

Established in 1988 by the Board of Trustees, the Temple University Great Teacher Awards will be awarded in 2000 to three faculty members for their continuous excellence in teaching. Each award carries a stipend of $15,000, and each awardee will receive a commemorative sculpture by Professor Stanley Lechtzin of the Tyler School of Art. In addition, each recipient's name will be engraved on the wall of Founder's Garden. The awards are presented at a special convocation in April which honors individual winners and their contributions to Temple's tradition of teaching excellence.

The guidelines that accompany this letter describe the procedures for selecting the awardees and a calendar for nominations. Each department may nominate one of its members; petitions of nomination signed by twelve students or alumni(ae) may be made directly to the Awards Committee which will advise the nominators on the preparation of the candidate's file. The chair of the committee is Robert D. Hamilton III, Professor of General and Strategic Management, Fox School of Business and Management (215-204-6870). In every case, we expect wide-ranging student and alumni(ae) participation in the nominating and appraisal processes.

I. Eligibility

The Great Teacher Award is open to all full-time University faculty on presidential appointment who meet the criteria stated below. Student evaluations of teaching must be included in order for the nominee to be eligible for consideration.

II. Nominations

Nomination may be made in either of the following two ways:

A. A department may present one nomination per year from among its eligible members, or

B. An eligible faculty member may be nominated by a signed petition. (See nomination procedures below.)

III. Criteria

Nominees for the award are expected to meet the following criteria:

A. Internal and external recognition of teaching excellence and creativity primarily by students as well as by teaching colleagues, as evidenced by student course evaluations, peer reviews, seminar presentations, etc. This is the most important criterion.

B. Long term commitment to excellence and originality in teaching at Temple University, as evidenced by:

1) mastery of the subject area;

2) development of effective and innovative methods and materials for teaching university students;

3) continuous efforts to evaluate and improve one's own teaching;

4) adaptability of teaching to changing populations and trends;

5) development of new courses; and modalities of instruction; and

6) academic and professional achievements of students.

C. Effective relationships with students, as demonstrated by accessibility, responsiveness to educational needs, concerns of students, involvement in student groups and activities, etc.

D. Outstanding performance in meeting a variety of teaching responsibilities (e.g., thesis and dissertation advising, internship or independent study supervision, mentorships).

E. Leadership in teacher-related activities outside of the classroom (e.g., curriculum development, program planning and review, guest lectureships, participation in conferences, accreditation activities).

IV. Nominating Procedures

A. Departmental Nomination

Each department establishes its own nominating procedures. The procedures should specify how departmental faculty identify and select nominees for the award, and how students participate in the process.

B. Petition Nomination

An individual faculty member may be nominated directly to the Awards Committee (with the candidate's permission) with a petition signed by twelve students, faculty, or alumni(ae). In this case, multiple letters of support usually carry more weight than a single letter.

C. Re-Nomination

If the candidate is not selected for the award, the same candidate may be re-nominated in a subsequent year. In such re-nominations, all nomination procedures must be repeated. However, all materials used in the prior nomination may be used in the current nomination. Additional supporting documents such as recent student letters and contemporary evaluations should be used to update the application.

V. Nomination Packets

Each nomination packet must be organized on the following format and sequence. Part One is a summary of the nomination. Part Two provides supporting documentation.

Part One: Nominating Packets

Part One must be presented in an 8 1/2 X 11 binder with the nominee's name on the outside cover. The contents must include:

A. A letter of nomination from the Department which provides:

1) a description of the nomination process, with specific information on how students participated in it; and

2) a three-page, double-spaced summary of how the nominee meets each of the required criteria. Failure to comply with the three page limitation shall result in the disqualification of the candidate.

B. A recent curriculum vitae of the nominee, which includes current home and work addresses and telephone numbers. The vitae should list the nominee's contributions to teaching, research, creativity, and service. Also to be included are details regarding: any post-graduate education or training received, participation in all conferences and scholarly meetings, and a list of theses or dissertations advised.

C. A chronological list of all courses taught by the nominee since coming to Temple. The list should indicate which courses were created by the nominee, and how many times each course has been taught.

D. A summary of student evaluations which include a summary of objective and /or subjective data contained in the evaluations submitted. Depending on the type of evaluation used, the summary may be presented in narrative and/or numeric format.

Do not include the actual evaluations themselves in Part One. They belong in Part Two.

E. Letters from students, alumni, or colleagues that specifically support the nominee's consideration for the Great Teacher Award. These letters must:

1) be solicited by an individual other than the nominee;

2) be sent directly to the nominee's department; and

3) be kept in confidence from the nominee.

Do not include in this section general testimonials or letters of recommendation for awards and honors other than the Great Teacher Award. These materials may be submitted in Part Two as supporting documentation.

Part Two: Nominating Packets

Part Two presents all of the supporting documents in a packet separate from Part One. The contents of Part Two must be attached together or contained in some way, and they must be organized and labeled according to the Table of Contents. Supporting documents may include:

A. Student evaluations which have been summarized in Part One. Please protect the confidentiality of your colleagues, by not including their names and student evaluation ratings in your dossier.

B. No more than three syllabi, curricula, or sets of curricular materials.

C. Testimonials and letters of recommendation from students, alumni, and colleagues that are general in nature, or that pertain to awards or honors other than the Great Teacher Award.

D. Other documents and materials that have direct bearing on the nominee's teaching achievements.

Please do not include text or articles published by the nominee or creative projects or art works completed by the nominee. Those are to be listed in the curriculum vitae.

VI. SCHEDULE

The time schedule is set forth below:

September 27, 1999

A University-wide announcement is made for the solicitation of nominations for the award. These announcements are to be sent to departments, faculty, newspapers, etc.

September 27, 1999, through January 28, 2000

Nomination packets are to be submitted to the Office of the Provost. Early submissions will be appreciated by the Awards Committee in order for them to begin their review of the packets.

The Awards Committee conducts its review, makes its selections and informs the President who then informs the awardees, and later the public.

Monday, April 3rd, at Noon

The Convocation

SELECTION COMMITTEE

Michael B. Wang, Professor of Physiology