The University College Faculty Scholar Award

 

I. Award Description

The University College Faculty Scholar Award (UCFSA) is bestowed annually to a full-time or part-time University College (UC) faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments.   

The UCFSA is an inclusive award that is awarded to a full-time or part-time faculty member in recognition of (a) significant and sustained contribution of research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments accumulated during their employment at Penn State, (b) research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments with undergraduate students, (c) research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments completed during the three previous academic years, or (d) research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments that has/have had a significant impact on the recipient's academic field of study.

The UCFSA winner will be presented with a plaque and a stipend in the amount of $1,000.

 

II. Eligibility

All full-time and part-time UC faculty members who have held full-time or part-time faculty positions in the UC for a minimum of three years are eligible to win the UCFSA. However, once a faculty member has been awarded the UCFSA, the recipient will become ineligible to win the award again for a period of five years.

 

III. Nominations

Nominations for the UCFSA should be submitted electronically no later than January 23. Faculty members, staff members, and students can submit nominations. The nominees will be contacted by the OVPCC by January 31 and asked to submit copies of their CV and a brief, one-page, single-spaced (no more than 500 words) personal statement summarizing (a) their research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments, (b) how they approach their research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments (i.e., methodology), and (c) the impacts of their research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments. Additionally, the nominees should ask three people to write brief, one-page, single-spaced letters (no more than 500 words) in support of their nominations. These letters should be sent directly to the OVPCC. All supporting materials should be submitted no later than March 3. If the dates mentioned above fall on a weekend or holiday, the delaines will be changed to following weekday.

 

IV. Review Committee

The UCFSA review committee should consist of five full-time or part-time faculty members. Three of these committee members should be the three most recent award winners. Past award winners should serve on the review committee for three years after winning the award and serve as alternates for the remaining two years when they are ineligible to win the award. This will ensure that there is no conflict of interest, because previous award winners will be ineligible to win the award again for a period of five years after they received the award. Additionally, all award winners will be asked to chair the review committee the second year they serve on the review committee. This will enable each person chairing the committee to gain experience on the committee and to learn from the previous year’s chair.

Two additional faculty members who actively engage in research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments should be selected by the UCFC in consultation with the OVPCC to serve on the Review Committee. The UCFC members should solicit nominations from their respective campuses, forward the nominations to the UCFC chair, who, in turn, will forward the nominations to the OVPCC. The OVPCC will contact nominees to confirm their eligibility and willingness to serve on the review committee. The OVPCC may ask nominees to submit supporting materials, such as copies of their CV and a brief, one-page research statement (see Section III).

In the event a previous UCFSA winner is unavailable to serve on the review committee (e.g., sabbatical, Fulbright, medical leave, maternity/paternity leave), one of the two alternates (i.e., previous award winners) will be asked to serve on the review committee.

 

V. Review Process

The UCFSA review committee members should receive copies of all nominees’ supporting materials (i.e., CV, personal statement, and letters of support) no later than March 15. Prior to March 15, a charge meeting should be held via Adobe Connect or phone conference during which Dr. Brazier and/or Dr. Hanes explains the review criteria and confidentiality policies.

The UCFSA review committee members should evaluate all nominees objectively with the understanding that the UCFSA can be awarded to a faculty member for (a) significant and sustained contribution of research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments accumulated during their employment at Penn State, (b) research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments with undergraduate students, (c) research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments completed during the three previous academic years, or (d) research, scholarship, and/or creative accomplishments that has/have had a significant impact on the recipient's academic field of study.

The UCFSA review committee chair should submit the committee’s top three candidates to the OVPCC no later than April 20. The OVPCC will then make a final decision by May 1. If the dates mentioned above fall on a weekend or holiday, the delaines will be changed to following weekday.