Criteria and Guidelines
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Texas State University System Regents’ Professor Award is to honor professors whose performance and contributions to the educational community at large have been exemplary. Selection as a Regents’ Professor is the highest honor bestowed by the Texas State University System on faculty members, and reflects a dedication to research, teaching, and service.
AWARD
Winners of the Regents’ Professor Award will receive the following:
- The designation of Texas State University System Regents’ Professor, which they will maintain for the duration of their service within the System.
- A $10,000 award, commemorative medallion and resolution approved by the Board of Regents.
- Formal recognition at a regular Board of Regents meeting.
ELIGIBILITY
Nominees shall be full-time faculty members at a TSUS four-year institution who have held the rank of professor or equivalent for a period of at least five years. Additionally, nominees shall:
- Demonstrate a record of distinguished teaching along with accomplishments in research or other scholarly activities.
- Demonstrate a record of service at the local, state, and national levels.
- Demonstrate a record of commitment to the university.
SELECTION PROCESS
- The Executive Director of the TSUS Foundation will call TSUS four-year institutions for nominations for the award by February 1.
- Utilizing the institutions’ existing framework for recognizing and awarding excellence, local committees will select a limited number of nominees from whom additional information (outlined below) will be requested. The committee will assess the materials on the basis of the selection criteria and will forward their recommendations to the president.
- The president will make his/her recommendation(s) to the Executive Director by May 1. The Executive Director will forward the nomination packets to the Advisory Selection Committee.
- Applications will be reviewed and ranked by the Advisory Selection Committee and their rankings will be submitted confidentially to the Executive Director by July 1.
- The Executive Director will forward the rankings to the Foundation Board of Directors. Prior to August 31, the Board of Directors will determine the number of Regents Professorships to be awarded and select the winner(s).
ADVISORY SELECTION COMMITTEE
The Advisory Selection Committee shall consist of seven active Regents’ Professors appointed by the Chancellor. The committee shall meet to discuss their rankings and recommend the most qualified nominee(s) to the Foundation Board of Directors.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Materials submitted for consideration should offer a summary of the nominee’s performance in teaching, research and service during his/her career, and may include the following information:
- Teaching Performance (Weight: 40%)
- The nominee’s philosophy of teaching, courses developed, teaching methodology, innovative teaching materials, methods, and use of technology.
- Formal evaluations by students, peers, or supervisors.
- Citations or other acknowledgements by former students (e.g. letters, e-mails, cards).
- Other assessments (e.g. licensure examination records of former students, letters of commendation from peers).
- Teaching awards or other recognition.
- Research or Other Creative or Scholarly Activity (Weight: 40%)
- Samples of research, creative works and scholarly works (e.g. book excerpts, articles, electronic presentations, monographs, invited papers, reports, etc.).
- Letters of support, conference programs, and other items that evidence involvement of student and/or junior faculty in research and creative or scholarly works.
- Service (Weight: 20%)
- A narrative summary of service on the local, state, national and international levels (including names of organizations or agencies served, descriptions of service and dates of service).
- Awards or recognitions for service.
NOMINATION PACKET
By May 1, the institution president will submit a nomination packet to the Foundation Executive Director. All materials in the nomination packet must be submitted electronically (in pdf format) either by email, file sharing service, and formatted as outlined below.
- Letter of transmittal (presidential nomination letter): 1 to 2 pages
- Curriculum Vitae: 2 to 5 pages
- Most significant contributions in research 1 to 2 pages
- Teaching philosophy and significant contributions in teaching 1 to 2 pages
- Most significant contributions in service 1 to 2 pages
- Letters of recommendations from colleagues Up to 4 pages
- Letters of recommendations from students Up to 4 pages
- Letters of recommendation from external parties Up to 4 pages
- Letters of recommendation from others (candidate’s choice) Up to 4 pages
- Executive Summary Up to 3 pages
(A condensed vitae and compilation of candidate’s teaching research, and service achievements)
- Total Nomination Packet Maximum Total: 25 pages
Any material extending beyond 25 pages, which may help draw a complete picture of the nominee’s career, may be included in an appendix, which must be a separate pdf file.
An institution may nominate no more than one candidate per 140 full-time faculty members based on Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data from the previous Fall semester.
Nominees who were not selected to receive the Regents’ Professor Award may remain eligible for consideration for two additional, consecutive years, subject to the approval of the institution president, by submitting a one-page addendum to their application packet to the president’s office by April 1.
The award recipient(s) will be announced at the component institution’s Fall convocation (when possible) and will be formally recognized and receive the award at the Board of Regents’ regular meeting in November.