President's Call for Nominations 2008

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President Hank Brown solicits nominations of University of Colorado faculty for selection of the 2008 President's Teaching Scholars. Appointment as a President's Teaching Scholar constitutes the University's highest recognition of excellence in teaching as well as active and substantial contributions to scholarly work in one's discipline or, in the case of a less senior scholar, indications of path-breaking contributions to his or her field. Chancellors, deans, departments, and individuals are all encouraged to nominate candidates; self-nominations will not be accepted.

The President's Teaching Scholars are a group of faculty from all campuses chosen not only for skill in their own classrooms, but also for their promise of improving education for students and enlarging educational possibilities across the University. Designees to the program become part of a participatory and collegial community. The commitment of time and other expectations outlined in this "Call" will be measured during the life of a CU President's Teaching Scholar. Over time, we have found that this group is composed of members who enjoy the opportunity to interact, engage and grow with colleagues whose values, generosity of spirit and concerns about education are shared. Those appointed as Teaching Scholars will receive a $3,000 stipend for each of the first two years; a one-time teaching development fund of $2,000; and an addition of $2,000 to the base salary beginning the third year.

The faculty member being nominated must currently be tenured at CU and have been a CU faculty member for at least five consecutive years. Nominees must be teaching on their campus in the spring 2008 semester [In some cases, particularly at the Health Sciences Center, this may not be possible and the nominator should consult with the PTS Director MaryAnn.Shea@colorado.edu about alternatives.]

The individual(s) selected will have the following attributes:

• Enthusiasm and vitality in teaching and for learning,
• Evidence of continuous growth and leadership in the field of study,
• Effective ability to design and redesign of courses to produce intellectual challenge and high effort,
• Active and effective engagement in advising students and in guiding student learning and research projects,
• Encouragement of intellectual interests in beginning students and of greater achievement with advanced students,
• Highest level of responsiveness to, and understanding of, a diverse student body
• Be at the time in their professional lives when they will be able to participate actively in the PTSP and continue working on both PTS program initiatives with the Teaching Scholars and on a research project in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

To be an outstanding teacher, the individuals should balance state-of-the-art knowledge in their field of expertise with inspired transmission of it to students. The appointment presumes collegiality and active engagement with Teaching Scholar colleagues at retreats, in projects, undertaken both individually and collectively, and in stimulating discussion, innovation and critical reflection on teaching. If designated, a nominee commits to spend time with peers each year at two retreats: in Fall for a weekend and in Spring for a day; time for leadership, service and committee work in the guild; time to make a "Teaching Scholar Teaching" presentation at a retreat; and time to both prepare and complete a research project on teaching or learning.

Preparing The Candidate's Dossier

The nominator should work with the nominee in requesting letters from faculty peers and students, both current and former, in support of the candidate. In the case that a nominee's career or teaching experiences are non-traditional, the nominator should explain those in detail in the letter of nomination.

Dossiers must include:

1. A current curriculum vitae, including tenure status
2. Three to five current letters from faculty colleagues addressing superb teaching as described here (may include endorsement by the dean and/or chair)
3. Two to four current letters from faculty colleagues addressing active, substantial research in the discipline (may include endorsement from the dean or chair), and two additional letters from external referees in one's discipline addressing scholarly work, as described in this document
4. The official summary sheets of five years of results of CU faculty course questionnaires or the equivalent student evaluation forms should the candidate be from the Health Sciences Center
5. Five to ten letters from students addressing the nominee's teaching and integration of research into teaching
6. Evidence of having been nominated for or having received a teaching award.
7. Other evidence that the nominee has assisted in the development of teaching beyond the classroom
8. A document describing views of the four core tasks of teaching: course planning and preparation, actual teaching, evaluating student learning and providing feedback, and keeping up with the professional field in teaching and integrating new knowledge into one's courses
9. A self-statement describing the candidate's research in the discipline and its importance and contribution to the field
10. A one page proposal for a research project measuring a dimension of learning (usually in one of your courses) that upon designation you will undertake as a Teaching Scholar (Please read description below)

Project Guidelines

The central work of President's Teaching Scholars is to create and disseminate examples of the scholarship of teaching and learning that contribute to practice in and across fields. To this end, each scholar designs and undertakes a new investigation aimed at deepening an understanding of teaching practice related to an important issue in a particular course by collecting data that measures appropriate outcomes.

The project

• Should center on finding solutions to learning barriers with one's students
• Should focus on quality of student learning resulting from teacher practice
• May demonstrate a commitment to the personal and social development of students in addition to intellectual development
• Should, if possible, link to prior areas of research and widely recognized issues
• Should be eventually prepared for publication in an appropriate refereed journal
• Should be shared with the PTSP and other university faculty via presentations, web pages, etc. Project descriptions will be made available on the PTSP URL under Gallery of Teaching Scholars' Projects on Learning

(Adopted and adapted from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, with permission.)

A University-wide committee composed of Teaching Scholars will select up to three new 2008 President's Teaching Scholars. Dossiers must be no more than 80 pages in length. Please submit one dossier in bound or loose-leaf notebook format and six copies. The dossiers are not returnable. Please do not include original material.

Nominations should be sent to:

Carol Redabaugh
Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Research
1800 Grant Street, Suite 800
35 CUA
University of Colorado
Denver, CO 80203-1185

Direct questions to carol.redabaugh@cu.edu or call 303/860-5619

This call begins Thursday, February 15, 2007, and dossiers will be accepted no later than Friday, November 16, 2007. Up to three new President's Teaching Scholar designees may be selected.

For more information regarding the President's Teaching Scholar's Program, go to http://www.colorado.edu/ptsp/

We benefited from reviewing the distinguished teaching award guidelines and procedures used by the University of California, Berkeley, and the SUNY Office of Academic Affairs.