Research and Creative Activity Awards

Nomination Letter

The nomination letter should address: 

• The nature of the nominee's work. 
• The nominee's impact on their 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, elected/selected membership or fellowship in prominent academic disciplinary societies, or other forms of professional recognition (masterclasses offered, major artistic shows or performances, etc.) 
• 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 

The nomination letter should not exceed 2,400 words or 5 single-spaced pages. 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. 

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The curriculum vitae should be current. 

Letters of Support

The letters should address: 

• The importance and impact of the nominee's scholarly and creative work. 
• 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. 

The letter writers should align with these criteria: 

• Letters of support should be solicited from those peers who are recognized leaders within their discipline at top-ranked institutions and highly regarded in the nominee's field. Often these individuals hold distinguished titles themselves, along with significant recognitions within their discipline or in elected membership to various national academies and other major awards. 
• One or more letters should come from outside of the United States. 
• 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.

There should be no more than 8 letters. The number of letters is not as important as the quality and specificity of the letters, along with the qualifications of the letter writer. The letters need not be long or exhaustive; what matters most is that they clearly and unambiguously demonstrate that the nominee's body of work has been so significant as to warrant the title of Distinguished Professor. 

Biographical Sketches of Letter Writers

The biographical sketches of the support letter writers should address: 

• the writers' expertise and standing within their institution and their academic field of study, including significant recognitions and awards the individual has received. 

The sketches should be brief. 

Three Examples of the Nominee's Work

Up to three examples of the nominee's work are encouraged to be submitted with the nomination dossier. These examples should be the nominee's most influential works and can include article(s), book(s), images of artistic work(s), musical recordings, exhibition catalog(s), or other materials that convey the significance of the nominee's work. 

There should be 1-3 formal or informal evaluative documents.  

Indication of Support from the Dean or Chair

This can be indicated by having the dean or chair sign (or countersign) the nomination letter or through a short separate statement indicating his or her support.