The designation of University Distinguished Teacher has been established to recognize faculty members at Old Dominion University who are outstanding teachers at the undergraduate level. Only full-time teaching faculty who are not tenured or tenure-eligible will be considered for this honor. Designated faculty members will hold the title permanently, be identified in University publications, and receive an annual monetary award of discretionary funds to support their professional development for the four years following their University Distinguished Teacher designation. Faculty holding the University Distinguished Teacher designation are not eligible to be re-nominated for the award.
Eligibility
Nominees shall have met the following criteria:
- Each nominee shall have taught at least three undergraduate courses per year for at least the past three years.
- Faculty nominated for consideration as University Distinguished Teacher shall have a record of superior accomplishment in teaching. The nominee shall document this record with evidence such as results of student course feedback surveys, peer evaluations, statements from former students, and other relevant information.
Nomination Process
ONLY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
- Nomination(s) will be in writing by a department/school colleague in the nominee鈥檚 discipline by September 1.
- The department/school chair/director shall provide the full nomination packet(s) to the department/school full-time faculty prior to the ballot, and the department/school chair/director shall conduct a secret ballot of all full-time members of the department/school and submit the vote with the nomination. Upon affirmation by a majority of those voting, the department/school chair/director shall forward the nomination(s) to the college/school dean.
- The college/school dean shall evaluate the credentials and submit the names of no more than 10% of the full-time non-tenure-track and non-tenured faculty in their college/school for nomination to the University Distinguished Teacher Committee.
- The University Distinguished Teacher Committee shall normally be comprised of one full-time faculty member from each college/school who holds the designation of University Professor or University Distinguished Teacher as selected by the college/school promotion and tenure committee. In cases where there are no faculty members in the college/school with either designation, the college/school promotion and tenure committee can select another faculty member from their college/school. The University Distinguished Teacher Committee may, by an affirmative vote of at least four members, recommend designation to the appropriate executive vice president, who will make the final designation no later than January 10 for the next year.
Send submissions via email to ViceProvostforFacultyAffairs@odu.edu.
Schedule of Non-Tenure-Track and Non-Tenured Faculty for University Distinguished Teacher Designation
| Dates | Actions |
|---|---|
| 8/1 | Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs calls for nominations of eligible faculty to be submitted to the department/school chair/director. |
| 9/1 | Nomination(s) by a tenured department/school colleague in the nominee's discipline are submitted in writing to the department/school chair/director. |
| 10/1 | Department/school chair/director provides the full nomination packet(s) to the department/school full-time faculty prior to the ballot, and conducts a secret ballot of all full-time members of the department/school and submits the vote with the nomination(s). |
| 10/15 | Upon affirmation by a majority of those voting, the department/school chair/director forwards the nomination(s) to the dean. |
| 11/1 | Dean evaluates the credentials and submits the names and application materials of no more than 10% of the full-time non-tenure-track and non-tenured faculty in their college/school for nomination to the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. The materials must be submitted to the Provost鈥檚 Office electronically. |
| 11/2 | The Provost鈥檚 Office provides all submitted nomination materials electronically to the University Professors Committee and informs the committee. |
| 12/1 | University Distinguished Teacher Committee, by an affirmative vote of at least four members, submits its recommendations to the appropriate executive vice president. |
| 1/10 | The appropriate executive vice president makes the final designation and notifies the faculty member of the decision regarding designation as a University Distinguished Teacher. |
Nomination Packet Shall Include:
- Personal statement by the person nominated describing general teaching philosophy [maximum 500 words].
- Documentation of teaching innovations grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
- Teaching portfolio review letters for the last three years are required.
- Curriculum vitae with priority given to activities and awards that focus on teaching [maximum two pages].
- Table listing courses taught in the last three years, including course number and title, and the number of students enrolled in each class section.
- Grade distribution reports and student course feedback survey reports from the last three years.
- Up to four additional letters of support, including at least two written by the nominee鈥檚 former students who have graduated from the University. The other two letters of support may be from professional colleagues, internal or external to the University, and may include former students. The letters may be solicited by either the nominator or the nominee鈥檚 department/school chair/director [maximum 12 pages].
Award & Presentation
The recipients will be recognized at the annual faculty awards dinner with a certificate. Each recipient receives $3,000 annually in discretionary funds for four years, as long as they remain faculty members at the University. Recipients are not required or expected to make a presentation as part of their recognition.
Past Award Winners
- Krystall Dunaway, Psychology
- Mohamed Rahoui, Economics
- Paige O'Shaughnessy, School of Accountancy
- Agnieszka Whelan, Art
- Michelle Carpenter, Marketing
- Laura Hill, Human Movement Sciences
- Nestor Escobales, Engineering Technology
- Charles Gray, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
- Ayman El Mesalami, Department of Computer Science
- Beth Backes, English
- Alison Lietzenmayer, Communication and Theatre Arts
- Vivian Paige, Accounting
- Kelly Alvey, Information Technology and Decision Sciences
- Katherine Jackson, English
- Tatyana Lobova, Biological Sciences
- Andrew Cohen, Finance
- Janis Krebs Smith, English
- Jimmie Carraway, Information Technology and Decision Sciences
- Amy Landers, Psychology
- Joshua Wallach, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Carla Harrell, Communication and Theatre Arts
- Aaron Karp, Political Science and Geography
- Randall Spurrier, Accounting
- Betsy Kennedy, Park, Recreation and Tourism Studies
- Terry Kubichan, Accounting
- Nathan Luetke, Engineering Technology
- Krystall Dunaway, Psychology
- Mohamed Rahoui, Economics
- Paige O'Shaughnessy, School of Accountancy
- Agnieszka Whelan, Art
- Michelle Carpenter, Marketing
- Laura Hill, Human Movement Sciences
- Nestor Escobales, Engineering Technology
- Charles Gray, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
- Ayman El Mesalami, Department of Computer Science
- Beth Backes, English
- Alison Lietzenmayer, Communication and Theatre Arts
- Vivian Paige, Accounting
- Kelly Alvey, Information Technology and Decision Sciences
- Katherine Jackson, English
- Tatyana Lobova, Biological Sciences
- Andrew Cohen, Finance
- Janis Krebs Smith, English
- Jimmie Carraway, Information Technology and Decision Sciences
- Amy Landers, Psychology
- Joshua Wallach, Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Carla Harrell, Communication and Theatre Arts
- Aaron Karp, Political Science and Geography
- Randall Spurrier, Accounting
- Betsy Kennedy, Park, Recreation and Tourism Studies
- Terry Kubichan, Accounting
- Nathan Luetke, Engineering Technology