Nominations open for Provost's Awards to honor outstanding faculty

• March 25, 2013

• By Sarah Stanek

Distinguished faculty at Cal State East Bay will have the opportunity to be recognized this spring with the inaugural presentation of the Provost’s Awards.

The new awards, created with the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate, honor faculty accomplishments in three areas:

• Outstanding Mentor of Students
• Outstanding New Researcher
• Outstanding Contributor to Community Engagement

The awards represent the values of the university community and its commitments to students and the community, said Provost James Houpis.

“Every year our faculty make tremendous contributions to the university, the community and the region through their work with students, and to their individual disciplines through their research and creative activities,” he said. “We are very pleased to honor our outstanding faculty for their dedication, commitment and quality of their efforts by establishing these new awards.” 

Associate Provost Linda Dobb noted that with more than 20 new faculty members hired this academic year, it is also important for the newest members of the community to see the ways the university values and recognizes faculty research and creativity.

All members of the university community are welcome to nominate a faculty member. A form is available on the Academic Senate Web site.

The Outstanding Mentor of Students is a faculty member who is known for

• mentoring a diverse group of undergraduate and or graduate students in research projects
• supporting student researchers both academically and professionally through advising and mentoring
• making a special effort to mentor student researchers from groups that may be underrepresented in their discipline

Nominations may also note faculty whose student researchers have been successful at publishing work in peer reviewed journals or presenting at professional conferences.

The Outstanding New Researcher award is open to untenured faculty members or lecturers who have been at East Bay fewer than six years. The nominees would be distinguished by

• a record of publishing, grant writing, and/or presentations that are indicative of great promise to publish, get grants, and/or be recognized as an authority in their discipline
• student involvement with research and/or teaching

The Outstanding Contributor to Community Engagement is a faculty member who

• is very active in the community as a volunteer or unpaid consultant, or who encourages students to actively volunteer in the community through service-learning projects, internships, or other co-curricular activities
• emphasizes community engagement in class sessions.

Nominations will be accepted through April 12. Awards will be presented during the Week of Scholarship April 22-26.