Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

It is my pleasure to announce that this year’s Distinguished Teacher process has begun!  As you know, we have two undergraduate distinguished awards:  The Distinguished Teaching Award (for full-time, undergraduate faculty) and The Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award (for part-time undergraduate faculty), and one graduate distinguished award:  The Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award.

I encourage you to be a part of this year’s selection process by making nominations.  The links below will take you to the 3 nomination forms:

For the Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award (part-time, UG)

Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award form

For the Distinguished Teaching Award (full-time, UG)

Distinguished Teaching Award form

The criteria for the Undergraduate Awards:  All full-time and adjunct Plymouth State University faculty members who have taught at PSU for at least 5 years are eligible to be nominated.  (Please note on the nomination form the names of those faculty who have already received the awards and are, therefore, not eligible.)  Although there are criteria by which the faculty members will be chosen after nomination, you may nominate any faculty member whom you consider deserving using the following as a guide:

Nominees Should:

• possess comprehensive knowledge of subject
• create a safe classroom environment in which all students feel valued
• exhibit good organization and presentation  skills
• promote and model respect for critical thinking
• provide a variety of instructional strategies to promote a challenging learning environment
• stimulate student thinking and understanding
• arouse student interest in learning
• display passion for teaching
• demonstrate resourcefulness in teaching
• respect and value students as individuals
• provide motivation and inspiration for students  to achieve at their highest abilities inside and outside of the classroom.

For the Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award (GR)

Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award form

The criteria for the Graduate Award:   All Plymouth State University graduate faculty members who have taught at PSU for at least 5 years are eligible to be nominated.  Please note that the following list of faculty have already received the award and are, therefore, not eligible:  Gail Mears (MEd/CAGS), Marcel Lebrun (MEd), Gary Goodnough (MEd/CAGS), Meg Petersen (MEd), William Benoit (MBA), Marianne True (MEd/CAGS), Colleen Brickley (MBA), Michael Fischler (MEd), Duncan McDougall (MBA), Julie Bernier (MEd), Warren Mason (MBA), Mary McNeil (CAGS), David Kent (MBA), and L. Michael Couvillion (MBA).   Although there are criteria by which the faculty members will be chosen after nomination, you may nominate any faculty member whom you consider deserving using the following as a guide:

Nominees Should Exhibit:

• enthusiasm in undertaking teaching and promoting learning
• significant command of subject matter and utilization of recent development in the field
• responsiveness to colleague and student feedback on teaching
• keen and sympathetic participation in the guidance and advising of students and in understanding and providing resources for their needs
• ability to organize course material & present clearly and imaginatively
• evidence of innovation in course design & delivery
• ability to assess student learning and to provide students with worthwhile (and timely) feedback
• evidence of leadership and innovation in teaching,  and innovation in teaching, including the enhancement  of teaching quality in colleagues
• Involvement of a range of people to develop

Nominations must be submitted electronically no later than 8:00 a.m. on Monday, March 26^th, 2012.

The PSU Distinguished Teaching Awards are our highest form of recognition for the excellent teaching that our faculty, both full- and part-time, provide for our students every day.  I thank you for your thoughtful responses to this request for nominations.

Julie N. Bernier

Provost and Vice President

for Academic Affairs