Nominations should be compiled principally by the nominator with supporting help from the nominee. In order to guide the nomination process and help the Awards Committee conduct an equitable selection process, we ask that all nomination packets (aka dossiers) conform to the following requirements. The committee will not consider any dossiers that do not.

1. Keep within stated page limits for each supporting element. The entire document should not exceed 30 pages.

2. Use a 12-point sans-serif font (e.g. Calibri) for the entire dossier.

3. Set margins to 1 inch on all sides.

4. Create a single PDF will all supporting documents in the following order:

   1. Cover Page (download MS Word template): The cover page includes contact information for the nominator(s), nominee, and signature lines, including the endorsement from the nominees’ dean, chair, or direct supervisor, as appropriate.

   2. Nomination Letter (limit: 2 pages). The nomination should identify the main reasons for the nomination and summarize the nominee’s teaching strengths and talents. More than simply a summary of the components in the dossier, the most compelling statements make a clear, persuasive case for why the nominee is deserving of a University-level teaching award based on personal knowledge of the nominee’s teaching.

   3. Letters of Support (limit: 5, 1-page letters; at least 2 from faculty and 2 from students). Faculty letters supporting the nominee’s dossier should come from faculty colleagues familiar with the nominee’s teaching; student letters should be written by the nominee’s current or former students. The most compelling letters describe, using specific examples based on direct observation, the nominee’s teaching prowess, passion and creativity in the classroom, skill in mentoring students or other instructors, and/or their ability to connect with and engage students from diverse backgrounds.

   4. Nominee’s Curriculum Vitae (limit: 2 pages). This abbreviated CV should highlight the nominee’s teaching activities, including, for example, teaching responsibilities, mentoring and advising activities, curriculum development, relevant professional development activities, teaching-related publications and presentations, other teaching awards, or teaching-related committee work.

   5. Nominee’s Reflective Teaching Statement (limit: 2 pages). In the reflective teaching statement, nominees should articulate their beliefs about and commitment to teaching and learning. The statement should describe the nominee’s overall goals for student learning, how the nominee assesses learning, and how the nominee engages students in and out of the classroom. The most compelling statements provide clear examples supporting these aspects of their teaching.

   6. Statement of Nominee’s Equitable and Inclusive Teaching Practices (limit: 1 page). Nominees should describe their practices that purposefully create equitable and inclusive learning environments, including data on outcomes, if available. This statement might describe, for example, how the nominee centers inclusivity and equity in their learning objectives; how their teaching activities meet the needs of diverse learners; how their course materials, such as readings, provide a full spectrum of perspectives on topics and how they are accessible to all students, including those with disabilities; how their course design provides flexibility to meet the learning opportunities that arise in the moment in the classroom.

   7. Supporting materials (limit: 5 pages). Nominees are invited to include materials that provide evidence of their teaching excellence and contributions to pedagogy. For example, they may include course material (project descriptions, assignments, course notes, etc.) to illustrate their pedagogical approaches, materials used to coach others (mentoring plans, instructions for TA, etc.), publication abstracts, etc.

   8. Representative course syllabus. Include one syllabus that best represents the nominee’s approach to syllabus and course design. The most compelling syllabi will further support the nominee’s approach to teaching described in their reflective teaching statement.

   9. Student Evaluation Data (download MS Excel template). Student evaluation data—both quantitative ratings and qualitative comments—should provide an overview and comparison of students’ perceptions of the nominee’s teaching over time. The nominee should provide data for all UVA courses they have taught in the three most recent years. In order to make these data as equitably comparable across schools and departments as possible, the committee requires that nominators use the Teaching Awards Evaluation Data template, preferably using data from the University-wide on-line system. Detailed directions for summarizing both quantitative and qualitative data are provided in the template (worksheets 1 and 2, respectively).

Qualifications

Excellence in teaching emphasized; research and service accomplishments also considered.

Eligibility

Full-time faculty appointment at any rank, tenured, tenure-track, or non-tenure-track. Previous winners of an award administered by the Teaching Awards Committee within the last five years are ineligible for an Open Award.

Award Information

$3,000 award for each recipient.
Awards are given for excellent undergraduate, graduate, or professional teaching.

Qualifications

Outstanding teacher. Demonstrated commitment to student success. Contributed significantly to University life.

Eligibility

Member of the UVA faculty for at least ten years. Previous winners of an award administered by the Teaching Awards Committee within the last five years are ineligible for an Open Award. Tenure status is not a consideration for this award.

Award Information

$10,000 and lifetime membership in the Alumni Association.

Winners of this prestigious award are asked to share their teaching expertise with students and/or colleagues in one or more of these ways during the three years following their selection for this Award:

• Work with the Center for Teaching Excellence to enhance teaching generally at the University by, for example, participating and/or presenting in teaching workshops; mentoring faculty colleagues on teaching issues; leading a faculty or TA reading group about teaching; organizing a departmental series of teaching workshops and/or panels
• Advise one or more undergraduate students on a research project, such as those funded by the Harrison Research, Creative Arts, Double Hoo Awards; and by the Jefferson Public Citizens Program
• Offer a special undergraduate course, such as an Academic Community Engagement (ACE) course, a University Seminar (USEM), a College Advising (COLA) Seminar, or a J-Term course.

Qualifications

Outstanding teacher. Demonstrated commitment to student success.

Eligibility

Full-time assistant professors, untenured faculty on tenure-track. Assistant professors are ineligible during the year they are under review for tenure. Previous winners of an award administered by the Teaching Awards Committee within the last five years are ineligible for an Open Award.

Award Information

$7,000 award; one semester of research leave at full pay; $5,000 research award. Because this important award is available only to tenure-track assistant professors and because it includes an additional semester of research leave, chairs should nominate their assistant-professor colleagues with stellar teaching records before they are considered for tenure, even if the department nominates an associate or full professor the same year.

Qualifications

Excellent leadership in developing study abroad programs; excellent fostering of study abroad; and/or excellent teaching of study abroad courses. Additionally, faculty who develop or teach courses with a strong international component that fosters a student’s global engagement and promotes global imagination within the university community will also be considered.

Eligibility

Open to all UVA full-time faculty, tenured, tenure-track, or non-tenure-track, whose work took place in a semester, summer-term, or January-term program.

Award Information

$3,000 award for the recipient.