2022 Nomination deadline: March 1

For all information related to eligibility, expectations, review and privileges, please refer to the following information:

Eligibility for Distinction

  • All departments need to have a written policy regarding the review and promotion of instructors, adhering to broad campus guidelines.

  • Departments may consider promoting instructors to senior instructor after they have held the rank of instructor for at least seven years.

  • Senior instructors who have been exemplary teachers and members of the university community may be considered for the honorary title of “Teaching Professor of Distinction.” This will be a working title, with the individual officially still holding the rank of senior instructor.

  • The working title of Teaching Professor of Distinction will be given to a limited proportion of senior instructors to recognize a record of distinction. Since this title is an honor, there is no expectation that the granting of this title will occur at a particular point in the individual’s career as senior instructor, nor is there an expectation that each senior instructor should seek this title. Although senior instructors may, as a matter of convenience, seek the honorary title of Teaching Professor of Distinction at the point of regular reappointment and contract renewal, a senior instructor may seek this honorary title at any point in their contract. Materials for this honorary title should be submitted to the primary unit in the early fall, on a schedule consistent with normal reappointments and promotions to senior instructor. If someone is nominated for the title of “Teaching Professor of Distinction” and then is not approved, that decision has no implications for the individual’s status as a senior instructor; that individual could be nominated for the honorary title of Teaching Professor of Distinction again.

Expectations for the Honorary Title of Teaching Professor of Distinction

  • To determine whether an individual should be named Teaching Professor of Distinction, faculty committees will examine the nominee’s teaching record, together with his/her service and leadership (including outreach and engagement), to determine whether this is a record of distinction.

  • A “record of distinction” typically carries the expectation that the individual has made a major impact in the disciplinary unit and its students (e.g. on pedagogy and curriculum), one that likely extends to considerable impact on the campus generally and/or a role in national discussions.

  • Multiple measures of exemplary performance constituting a record of distinction should be used. Examples of multiple measures may include, but are not limited to:

    • A record of exemplary classroom teaching, including the following:

      • FCQ Instructor Summary

      • FCQ Summary for each course taught

      • Peer reviews of teaching

      • Letters from randomly solicited students

      • Course syllabi and exams

    • Contributions to course and curriculum development

    • Contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning, including the following:

      • Contributions to local or national workshops on teaching

      • Relevant publications such as textbooks, lab manuals, articles on

        pedagogy, etc.

      • Work that improves teaching across multiple units

      • Papers, posters, or presentations on pedagogical topics delivered at

        conferences

    • Evidence of student engagement, as evidenced, for example, through mentoring of students or service on honors thesis committees.

    • Leadership and service that have an impact on the unit, school/college, campus and/or national communities.

    • Outreach to communities and partners beyond the university, including non-profits, disadvantaged groups, that draws upon the instructor’s expertise.

    • Practitioner experience that supplements a teaching career.

Review Process

Unit-Level Review:

  • When a senior instructor wishes to apply for the honorary title of Teaching Professor of Distinction, or when the unit wishes to nominate that person, the chair/director of the unit should call upon the appropriate faculty committee (e.g. the committee typically convened to review instructors) to review and advance a nomination packet which will include:

    • a letter of nomination from the chair,

    • one or more supporting letters (which may be from outside the unit or campus),

    • a vita,

    • a teaching statement,

    • a service statement, and

    • a teaching portfolio that speaks to multiple measures of exemplary performance.

  • The department will vote on the granting of the honorary title. If the vote is positive, the case will be forwarded to the college.

College-Level Review: 

  • Given the endorsement of the unit, the nomination packet will be reviewed at the college level by a committee made up of past Teaching Professors of Distinction. If that committee ratifies the nomination, it goes to the dean. The dean will consider the nomination and, if s/he approves it, s/he will write a letter of support granting the honorary title.