If you know a deserving member of the IU community who should be considered for a teaching or service award, please consider nominating them. Nominations open in the spring and an email announcement will be sent to notify IU faculty and staff. The deadline for submitting a nomination and required documents is October 15, 2021.
Help us honor those who deserve it
Please refer to the list on this page of award criteria and required documents for nominations, including a dossier, and upload only the documents required for that award nomination. Sample dossiers are available for in-person viewing at each campus, thanks to the generosity of past winners. Please contact us to see a sample dossier or with any questions about the nomination process.
Distinguished Professor nominations are evaluated by the University Distinguished Ranks Committee, which recommends appointments to the president and the trustees. Nominators should review the guidelines for preparing a nomination provided by the committee.
Dossiers for successful nominees for distinguished professor differ, but all dossiers must include the following:
- Nomination Letter
The nomination letter should clearly identify the nominee and the nominator and should summarize clearly and succinctly, in language appropriate for review by colleagues who are not skilled in the nominee’s discipline:- The nature of the nominee’s work
- The nominee’s impact on his or her field and the significance of that field (in cases where the nominee or field is unlikely to be familiar to laypeople)
- The nominee’s major awards, lectures, and other forms of professional recognition
- The most significant points from the external letters of review
- Any school or department process that resulted in the nomination
- Any other evidence of scholarly, artistic, or literary excellence
- Supporting Letters
One of the most important components of a successful nomination dossier is evaluation by peers, especially recognized leaders in the discipline. The nomination should include no more than eight letters that provide an assessment of the nominee's work, impact on the field, and overall scholarly, artistic, or literary distinction. The number of letters is not as important as their quality and specificity and the qualifications of the writers. The committee recommends that:- Referees should be at top-ranked institutions and highly regarded in the nominee’s field.
- One or more letters should come from outside of the United States.
- There should be a brief statement reflecting the expertise and standing of each referee.
- The letters should articulate the importance and impact of the nominee’s scholarly and creative work.
- The letters should address the national and international reputation of the nominee and the nominee’s standing in his or her discipline.
- In no event should the letters merely restate facts from the curriculum vitae or focus on the nominee’s teaching or service.
- Letters from colleagues in related disciplines should be included if they help make clear that the distinction is important to more than one field.
- A limited number of letters from within Indiana University can be helpful if they come from the nominee’s chair or dean, or from highly regarded colleagues in the nominee’s field.
- As a general matter, letters should not be solicited from anyone whose work is currently supervised by the nominee or who has published extensively with the nominee.
- Current Vitae
The nomination should include an up-to-date curriculum vitae of the nominee. - Indication of the Dean’s and/or Chair’s Support (optional)
Although not required, it is very helpful if nominations indicate whether they are supported by the nominee’s dean and/or department chair. This can be indicated by having the dean and/or chair sign (or countersign) the nomination letter or through a short separate statement indicating his or her support. - Three Examples of the Nominee’s Work (optional)
The dossier may, but is not required to, include a maximum of three examples of the nominee’s most influential work, such as articles, books, images of artistic works, musical recordings, exhibition catalogs, or other materials that convey the significance of the nominee’s work.
The nomination form and all documents must be submitted online on or before October 15, 2021.
The Distinguished Teaching Awards include the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, Frederic Bachman Lieber Memorial Award, Herman Frederic Lieber Memorial Award and Sylvia E. Bowman Award.
The Distinguished Teaching Awards Committee seeks nominations of truly distinguished, as opposed to simply excellent, teachers. In making its determinations, the committee places special weight on the following:
- Evidence that the candidate has had a profound, life-changing influence on students
- A sustained impact on student learning
- Innovative teaching
- A demonstrated leadership role in teaching (on the candidate’s campus, in the region, nationally and/or internationally)
- Breadth of courses taught
- The ability to be highly reflective as a teacher in his or her self-analysis
While it is not expected that candidates will demonstrate distinguished records in all of these areas, candidates are expected to document what distinguishes them as a teacher.
The dossier for Distinguished Teaching Awards should not exceed 80–100 pages and contain the following material:
- Nomination letter
Each dossier should include one letter of nomination, preferably from the department chair or dean. The letter should make the case that the nominee meets or exceeds the standard of distinguished teaching and reference specific teaching qualities and activities. There should be no more than one letter of nomination. - Teaching philosophy and self-analysis statement
This statement of self-reflection is of central importance, and the committee gives it much weight in its deliberations. Candidates should keep in mind that the committee is concerned with the candidate’s rigor as a teacher. In addition to including a teaching philosophy and how it is implemented, the statement should address the following:- How has the candidate enlarged the content or elevated the intellectual level of his or her courses, programs, departments, degrees, curricula, and students
- How has constructive feedback from student evaluations and peer reviews been used to improve teaching
- How have teaching activities contributed to the intellectual growth of the students, the candidate, and the unit
- Curriculum vitae
Include an up-to-date teaching focused CV. - Courses taught
The committee considers the breadth of courses taught at IU to be important. It looks for a wide range of courses and abilities. Dates and enrollments should be included, along with an indication of level (lower-level undergraduate, upper-level undergraduate, graduate), as well as modality of delivery (in-person, hybrid, and/or online). - Student support
The dossier must include a summary of the candidate’s student course evaluations for the last three years, and these should be comprehensive rather than selected. Do not include copies of the original student evaluations. Although the committee wishes to see all qualitative comments, it only wants a summary of the quantitative scores. This summary should include an analysis of the results as well as an explanation of how the evaluations were administered.
In addition, candidates may provide summary tables that show course-evaluation scores over a longer period of time. Following, candidates provide brief reflections on how they utilize these evaluations in their own professional growth without duplicating information provided in the teaching philosophy and self-analysis statement (reflections should not exceed 3 pages). - Peer reviews
One to three formal peer review letters from faculty members familiar with a nominee’s work should be included in the dossier. A peer review based on multiple observations of a candidate’s classroom teaching is essential and will be given significantly more weight than one based on the candidate’s general reputation. Candidates are encouraged to schedule reviews of their teaching that encompass several semesters. - Research and publications related to teaching
Briefly annotated list of publications and disseminated works that are specifically related to teaching. Include any public dissemination of teaching materials and methods. Do not submit research products unrelated to teaching. Do not include copies of the publications. - Academic student counseling and mentoring
Describe both the breadth of student mentoring and any unusual or particularly time-intensive activities, including evidence of teaching beyond the traditional classroom. - Other letters of support
The dossier may include up to five letters from students and five from external sources or community members.
While the committee appreciates the opinions of a candidate’s students, colleagues, and supervisors, it usually values these opinions in direct proportion to their spontaneity. Thus, candidates should keep in mind that the committee finds the views of students most informative when the students are least aware that these views may affect their teachers’ chances of receiving an important award.
The dossier must be submitted online in .pdf format with the nomination form on or before October 15, 2021.
Nominations that do not result in an award may be resubmitted in subsequent years. New supporting evidence may be included in resubmitted dossiers in response to committee feedback.
The nomination form and dossier, with full supporting evidence, should be submitted online on or before October 15, 2021.
The dossier should contain the following materials:
- Self-analysis statement
The committee considers this statement of self-reflection to be of central importance and gives it a great deal of weight in its deliberations. In the statement, candidates should discuss their teaching philosophy as it relates to the use of technology and how it is put into practice. This analysis must also document efforts undertaken to assess the impact of these activities and approaches on student learning, motivation, and creativity, and how the results of these assessments relate to the candidate’s teaching. The statement should be between 5 and 8 pages, double-spaced. - Curriculum vitae
An up-to-date CV of the nominee should be included, and this should contain a list of courses taught, as well as the details of the candidate’s current position and rank. - Nomination letter or letters
Nominators should substantiate why the person is qualified for the award by references to specific work advancing student learning through technology, as well as to related scholarly and leadership activities. - Sample of Syllabi
A representative sample of syllabi must be accompanied by a summary (maximum 1-page) of how the implementations and uses of technology relate to course goals and/or student learning outcomes for the selected sample. - Student Ratings of Teaching
Candidates should provide summaries from a sample of recent classes that significantly incorporated technology to enhance teaching and learning. Evaluation data must be accompanied by a statement (maximum 1-page) that reflects on student ratings in the context of the candidate’s goals, successes, and growth in the use of technology. Include all student comments for the selected sample. - Peer/Administrative Evaluations
Evaluations can be local and external, peer or administrative, solicited and unsolicited, and can refer to the candidate’s teaching or the candidate’s broader impact. If applicable, evaluations should include the influence of this instructor’s work on the use of technology in teaching and learning on other departmental offerings and on the curriculum. - Additional Supporting Materials
Additional supporting materials might include evidence of invitations to be a guest speaker in an area of expertise, leadership in curriculum or course development, representative publications bearing on the use of technology in teaching and learning, and sustained contributions to a body of knowledge about using technology in teaching and learning.
The Thomas Ehrlich Service Learning Award Selection Committee requests that documentation be submitted in the order given here. The nomination dossier, with full supporting evidence, must be submitted on or before October 15, 2021.
Along with the online nomination form, please submit:
- A letter of nomination from a colleague or self (limit 3 pages
- A curriculum vita of the nominee (limit 8 pages)
- A letter of support from a community partner (limit 3 pages)
- A service-learning course syllabus from the nominee
- An essay from the nominee (not to exceed 5 pages) that addresses the three selection criteria below:
- Evidence of deeply engaged, high-quality academic work
- Evidence of community collaboration and change
- Evidence of institutional impact.
The nomination form and dossier for the W. George Pinnell Service Award, with full supporting evidence, should be submitted online on or before October 15, 2021.
The dossier should contain the following materials:
- Curriculum vitae (with a detailed service section)
- Number of years of employment by Indiana University
- Nomination letter(s)
- Self-analysis by the candidate of his or her service contributions
- Description of service activities
- Documentation of impact of service activities
- Letters of support regarding service—(no more than five letters from colleagues and five letters from external or community members)
- Publications (if any) related to service
- Administrative evaluations of service activities
- Any additional supporting materials
The nomination form and dossier for the John W. Ryan Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Programs and Studies, with full supporting evidence, should be submitted online on or before October 15, 2021.
The dossier should contain the following materials:
- Curriculum vitae
- Letters of support (two or three) documenting the nominee’s contributions in international teaching, research, service, and engagement and his or her impact on students, faculty, and the overall internationalization of the university. External letters, including those from overseas, strengthen the nomination.
The Distinguished Teaching Awards Committee seeks nominations of truly distinguished, as opposed to simply excellent, part-time teachers. In making its determinations, the committee places special weight on the following:
- Evidence that the candidate has had a profound, life-changing influence on students
- A sustained impact on student learning
- Innovative teaching
- A demonstrated leadership role in teaching (on the candidate’s campus, in the region, nationally and/or internationally)
- Breadth of courses taught
- The ability to be highly reflective as a teacher in his or her self-analysis
While it is not expected that candidates will demonstrate distinguished records in all of these areas, candidates are expected to document what distinguishes them as a teacher.
The dossier for the Part-Time Teaching Award should not exceed 80–100 pages and contain the following material:
- Nomination letter
Each dossier should include one letter of nomination, preferably from the department chair or dean. The letter should make the case that the nominee meets or exceeds the standard of distinguished teaching and reference specific teaching qualities and activities. There should be no more than one letter of nomination. - Teaching philosophy and self-analysis statement
This statement of self-reflection is of central importance, and the committee gives it much weight in its deliberations. Candidates should keep in mind that the committee is concerned with the candidate's rigor as a teacher. In addition to including a teaching philosophy and how it is implemented, the statement should address the following:- How has the candidate enlarged the content or elevated the intellectual level of his or her courses, programs, departments, degrees, curricula, and students
- How has constructive feedback from student evaluations and peer reviews been used to improve teaching
- How have teaching activities contributed to the intellectual growth of the students, the candidate, and the unit
- Curriculum vitae
Include an up-to-date teaching focused CV. - Courses taught
The committee considers the breadth of courses taught at IU to be important. It looks for a wide range of courses and abilities. Dates and enrollments should be included, along with an indication of level (lower-level undergraduate, upper-level undergraduate, graduate), as well as modality of delivery (seated, hybrid, and/or online). - Student support
The dossier must include a summary of the candidate’s student course evaluations for the last three years, and these should be comprehensive rather than selected. Do not include copies of the original student evaluations. Although the committee wishes to see all qualitative comments, it only wants a summary of the quantitative scores. This summary should include an analysis of the results as well as an explanation of how the evaluations were administered.
In addition, candidates may provide summary tables that show course-evaluation scores over a longer period of time. Following, candidates provide brief reflections on how they utilize these evaluations in their own professional growth without duplicating information provided in the teaching philosophy and self-analysis statement (reflections should not exceed 3 pages). - Peer reviews
One to three formal peer review letters from faculty members familiar with a nominee’s work should be included in the dossier. A peer review based on multiple observations of a candidate’s classroom teaching is essential and will be given significantly more weight than one based on the candidate’s general reputation. Candidates are encouraged to schedule reviews of their teaching that encompass several semesters. - Research and publications related to teaching
Briefly annotated list of publications and disseminated works that are specifically related to teaching. Include any public dissemination of teaching materials and methods. Do not submit research products unrelated to teaching. Do not include copies of the publications. - Academic student counseling and mentoring
Describe both the breadth of student mentoring and any unusual or particularly time-intensive activities, including evidence of teaching beyond the traditional classroom. - Other letters of support
The dossier may include up to five letters from students and five from external sources or community members.
While the committee appreciates the opinions of a candidate’s students, colleagues and supervisors, it usually values these opinions in direct proportion to their spontaneity. Thus, candidates should keep in mind that the committee finds the views of students most informative when the students are least aware that these views may affect their teachers' chances of receiving an important award.
The dossier must be submitted online in .pdf format on or before October 15, 2021.
Nominations that do not result in an award may be resubmitted in subsequent years. New supporting evidence may be included in resubmitted dossiers in response to committee feedback.
For the Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award (formerly known as the Lieber Memorial Teaching Associate Award), the Distinguished Teaching Awards Committee seeks nominations of truly distinguished, as opposed to simply excellent, teachers. In making its determinations, the committee places special weight on the following:
- Evidence that the candidate has had a profound, life-changing influence on students
- A sustained impact on student learning
- Innovative teaching
- A demonstrated leadership role in teaching (on the candidate’s campus, in the region, nationally and/or internationally)
- Breadth of courses taught
The ability to be highly reflective as a teacher in his or her self-analysis.
While it is not expected that candidates will demonstrate distinguished records in all of these areas, candidates are expected to document what distinguishes them as a teacher.
In most cases, the dossier for Distinguished Teaching Awards should contain the following materials:
- Nomination Letter(s)
Each dossier should include one letter of nomination, preferably from the department chair or dean. - Teaching Philosophy and Self-analysis statement
The committee considers this statement of self-reflection to be of central importance and gives it much weight in its deliberations. In the statement candidates should discuss their teaching philosophy and how it is put into practice. Included should be an account of any efforts undertaken to analyze teaching, with specific reference to self-improvement and student accomplishment in its broadest sense. The statement should be between five and eight pages, double-spaced. - Curriculum vitae
Include an up-to-date teaching-focused CV. - Courses Taught at Indiana University
Include: Dates and enrollments; course number and title; and an indication of level (lower-level undergraduate, upper-level undergraduate, graduate), as well as modality of delivery (seated, hybrid, and/or online). - Student Support
The dossier must include a summary of the candidate’s student course evaluations for the last three years, and these should be comprehensive rather than selected. Candidates to provide brief reflections on how they utilize these evaluations in their own professional growth without duplicating information provided in the teaching philosophy and self-analysis statement (reflections should not exceed 3 pages). - Peer Review of Teaching
One to three formal peer review letters from faculty members familiar with a nominee’s work should be included. - Research Publications
Briefly annotated list of publications and disseminated works that are specifically related to teaching. - Academic student counseling and mentoring
Describe both the breadth of student mentoring and any unusual or particularly time-intensive activities, including evidence of teaching beyond the traditional classroom. - Other Letters of Support (Optional)
The dossier may include up to five letters from students and five from external sources or community members.
Video Recording: For Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award applicants ONLY
Recipients of the Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award become Indiana University’s nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Students Award (MAGS), whose nomination deadline is late January, and whose nomination criteria include submission of a video recording of the nominee in a classroom setting.
IU Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award applicants are asked to please submit a 10-minute (MAXIMUM) video recording of the nominee teaching in a classroom setting. Note that if the video exceeds 10 minutes, the nominee will be disqualified from consideration for this award. Once you have recorded your video, please save your video as one of the following formats: .mov, .mp4 (.mpeg4), .avi, .wmv, .flv, .3GP.
Save your video in a Microsoft OneDrive at IU or Google at IU My Drive folder. Copy and paste the folder link to a Word document, save it to your hard drive, then use CHOOSE FILE link for the electronic submission of documents relative to the Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award Nomination.
Learn more about the MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award.
The nomination form and all required materials are due by October 15, 2021.
To submit a nomination, please complete these steps:
- Contact information page
- Select the appropriate award by clicking on the circle next to the award
- Provide all required contact information for the nominator, the individual submitting the nomination, nominee’s information
- Click on the “Continue” button to move to the next page
- File upload page
- Upload the required materials for the award nomination in .doc or .pdf file format by clicking on the “Upload a file” button for each required element of the award dossier (see specific requirements on this page)
- Click on the “Continue” button once you have uploaded all of the required materials to move to the next page
- Confirm the nomination page
- Review the materials and information provided in the previous pages
- When ready, click on the “Submit” button to submit the nomination dossier.
At any point in the process you can suspend the submission by clicking on the “Save my progress and resume later” button at the bottom of each page. Selecting this option will prompt you to enter an email address, which will generate a unique link via email to access the nomination at a later point. Nominations will not be received until the nomination has been completed with all documents uploaded and the final “Submit” button selected.