Outstanding Faculty Awards
sponsored by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)

The Outstanding Faculty Awards (OFA) sponsored by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) recognize and rewards excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, and public service among VA institutions and is the highest honor presented to college and university faculty in the state of Virginia.

Criteria for OFAs
Mason’s nominees must possess a record of superior accomplishment that reflects strongly the mission of our institution.  This record of superior accomplishment must extend across all four areas of scholarly endeavor, as described by Ernest Boyer in Scholarship Reconsidered (1990).  These areas include:

• Teaching:  Instruction, student development and learning, mentoring, etc.
• Discovery:  Scholarship, research, creative activities
• Integration of Knowledge:  Curricular development, placing one’s discipline into interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary contexts, relevant/meaningful connections between scholarship and teaching
• Service:  Application of knowledge and expertise in the broader contexts of institution, community/society, and professional service

A nominee’s record of accomplishment must demonstrate clear and compelling evidence of the nature of his/her: 1) involvement/participation; 2) effectiveness/success; 3) impact/achievement; and 4) recognition/acknowledgement in each of the four areas.

Mason can submit up to ten nominees for the OFA award.  Included in the awards are two specialized awards: one that recognizes an early-career ‘Rising Star’ and one that recognizes outstanding ‘Teaching with Technology.’  Mason may only submit one ‘Rising Star’ nominee.  Nominees in this category cannot have more than six years of service as a FT faculty member and should be in at least their third year as a faculty member in Virginia.

For more information about the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Awards and the guidelines for nomination packets, please see  www.schev.edu/AdminFaculty/OFAprogramIndex.asp.

If you know of a faculty member who should be considered, please write a brief letter explaining why the person is competitive for the Outstanding Faculty Award, the ‘Teaching with Technology’ Outstanding Faculty Award, or the ‘Rising Star’ Outstanding Faculty Award. Nominations should be sent to the Center for Teaching Excellence at cte@gmu.edu.

For further information, contact Kimberly Eby, Director, Center for Teaching Excellence; Associate Provost for Faculty Development (3- 8671; keby1@gmu.edu)