Faculty Recognition Award Categories

The purpose of this award is to recognize faculty who have excelled in providing academic advising to undergraduate and/or graduate students. This award seeks to recognize academic advising for student success that represents service beyond faculty professional responsibilities (i.e., contributions that go beyond traditional advising expectations or otherwise enhance advising at IUP). A clear description of how “student success/outcomes” are defined and supported must be provided. Applicants for this category do not need to provide a course syllabus.

This award recognizes faculty who make instruction accessible to all students using universally designed access. The design ensures that all educational experiences, learning activities, and instructional technology provide for multiple means of engagement, responses, expression, and assessment. Access to the course content or course module should be provided.

This award recognizes a collaborative team practice (intra- or multidisciplinary) implemented in such a way that student learning is enhanced. Applications must clearly describe and support the efforts of each faculty member. Evidence of the collaborative nature of the project needs to be provided as well as the impact on student learning. (Note: Award money is split among team members.)

This award recognizes course design which is especially effective in teaching content within a particular discipline. Evidence should support thoughtful pedagogical progression that maximizes student learning.

This Heiges-Lamberski Award recognizes exemplary commitment demonstrated by an experiential education or service learning coordinator in the design, development, delivery, evaluation, and/or advocacy of experiential education or service learning at IUP.

*Sponsored by the Office of Social Equity and Title IX

Applicants for this award will demonstrate course design and implementation strategies that respect students’ differences and/or make diversity central to the intellectual content of courses taught. Evidence should be provided of a teaching and learning environment where students feel that their contributions and perspectives are equally valued and respected.

This award recognizes the use of techniques, methods, materials, technologies, or tools outside traditional teaching practices for such purposes as increasing student engagement, enhancing student retention, demonstrating difficult concepts, or encouraging critical thinking. Exemplary applicants will provide the pedagogical rationale for the application of the approaches employed, confirmation of the outcomes achieved, and clear evidence of the innovation aspect of the class.

This award recognizes outstanding course design that incorporates instructional technology. Exemplary applicants will demonstrate the application of online pedagogy, instructional design, and student outcomes. Access to course content or course module should be provided.

This award recognizes faculty who give thoughtful consideration of classroom events with the purpose of improving instruction and solving problems as they arise. Experience and careful analysis allow for new patterns of practice that enable the instructor to deal with present-day learning in a proactive rather than reactive manner.

The purpose of this award is to recognize faculty who have excelled in providing career / holistic mentoring to undergraduate and/or graduate students. This award seeks to recognize mentoring for student success that represents service beyond faculty professional responsibilities (i.e., make visible contributions that are happening outside of the classroom or traditional mentoring expectations, or otherwise enhance mentoring at IUP). A clear description of how “student success/outcomes” are defined and supported must be provided. Applicants for this category do not need to provide a course syllabus.

*Sponsored by the IUP Libraries

Open Educational Resources (OER) and affordable educational resources (zero or low cost to students such as use of li resources and reserves) ease the burden of textbook costs for students, improve student engagement and retention, and improve educational outcomes. This award recognizes excellence for faculty curators, creators, and adopters of Open Educational Resources or affordable educational resources. Applicants should provide details on the financial and pedagogical impact of their adoption of OER/affordable educational resources on students and teaching practice.

*Sponsored by the School of Graduate Studies and Research

Study that increases knowledge about teaching and learning and demonstrates application to actual teaching practice. This includes descriptive, correlational, experimental, or causal-comparative research. The applicant should provide evidence to clearly support the relevance of the research study. Must provide a specific research question and how it was assessed. A clear description about how the research findings are/were applied to enhance teaching and learning broadly or specifically at IUP is required. Please provide the IRB Approval Number or documentation that the project was exempt. Applicants for this category should provide, if relevant, course syllabus, student evaluations, unsolicited student comments, or letters of support.

Teaching associates provide valuable service to our university community. This award is intended to recognize exemplary classroom instruction. Applicants for this award must submit a letter of recommendation from a faculty member that addresses classroom performance. Applications should include a signature by their faculty mentor indicating they have reviewed the full application and support the submission. Any doctoral student who is the instructor of record and is teaching in the department in which they are a student is eligible to apply for this award.

Outstanding course design and teaching at a distance. Exemplary applicants will demonstrate the application of online pedagogy, instructional design, and student outcomes.

Respects students' differences and/or makes diversity central to the intellectual content of courses taught.

Excellence in instruction that is based on verbally-delivered expository teaching, i.e., a “good” lecture.

Any example of effective classroom practice.

The innovative use of technology in the classroom as a tool to empower students to be actively involved in their learning.

A team approach by individuals from different departments or the infusion of one discipline into another in such a way that learning is enhanced.

Recognizes outstanding faculty contributions to IUP's living-learning program. Outstanding faculty contributions may be the result of one, or any combination of the following: (a) role as a living-learning liaison (b) involvement with research related to IUP living-learning, (c) membership on a living-learning committee, or (d) contributions to programs and activities that promote student learning in on-campus residential communities.

Instructor demonstrates the teaching of writing in combination with the teaching of course content through writing as a mode of learning. This award is intended to recognize the thoughtful use and balance of writing-to-learn activities, writing-to-communicate assignments, and a commitment to improving students' communication skills.