L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Awards

This KB serves to provide a description of the L&S Academic Staff Teaching Awards, eligibility, instructions on the nomination process, and award criteria. Questions regarding the awards or the nomination process can be directed to teach.learn@ls.wisc.edu. This document was updated and reviewed for accessibility on June 16, 2025.

General Description

The College of Letters & Science honors outstanding instructional academic staff for their excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students. To honor these contributions, the College offers five individual L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Awards($3,000) per year. 

Award recipients will encompass the following characteristics:

  • Advance the educational mission of Letters & Science through evidence-based and student-centered teaching and undergraduate student mentoring
  • Contribute to an inclusive, fair, and equitable environment that fosters engagement and a sense of belonging for students, and colleagues
  • Have an exemplary record of collaborative work as a team
  • Contribute to one or more of the following areas:
    • Pedagogical Creativity and Innovation
    • Inclusive Excellence
    • Promotion of the Liberal Arts
    • Support of the Wisconsin Idea

Please use this form to submit nominations by January 30, 2026.

Questions regarding the awards: Cathy Yu at teach.learn@ls.wisc.edu.

Table of Contents:

Eligibility and Restrictions

L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Awards (Individual)

  • Non-tenure track instructors employed by an L&S department with at least a 50% appointment. 

  • An instructor of record for L&S courses at least 4 semesters (not including mentored research or independent study courses). 

  • Staff are eligible for the L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Awards once every 4 years.

  • Each department may only nominate one staff member per year

Nomination Instructions and Materials

Nominations are made by the department chair/director or their delegate on behalf of the department following departmental norms for award nominations.

Nomination material should be in a single PDF file, include bookmarks for each letter and section, and be submitted via the online Nomination Form.

L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Award (Individual)

All complete nominations must include the components listed below.

  1. A completed online Nomination Form.

  2. An abbreviated (five pages maximum) curriculum vitae of the nominee. Limit the number of publications listed to twenty, including those related to teaching.

  3.  Four letters of support (three pages maximum each)

    1. A nomination letter from the department chair or their delegate

    2. A supporting letter from present or past student(s)

    3. Two supporting letters from members of the university. One letter writer must be a colleague from the nominating department

  4. A reflective statement by the nominee (two pages maximum)

  5. A teaching dossier with material and evidence that in a cohesive and comprehensive way supports the nomination (ten pages maximum). This may include but is not limited to:

    1. A list of contributions and achievements

    2. Course material

Award Criteria

L&S Academic Staff Teaching Excellence Award (Individual)

The nomination material should speak to the nominee's positive impact on

  1. undergraduate students with their excellence in teaching and mentoring practices.  

  2. creating an inclusive, fair, and equitable environment that fosters engagement and a sense of belonging for students, and colleagues

  3. advancing the educational mission of the College of Letters & Science and should include reference to at least one of the following: pedagogical creativity and innovation, inclusive excellence, promotion of the Liberal Arts, and/or support of the Wisconsin Idea.

The reflective statement by the nominee should address their teaching and learning philosophy, practices, and objectives and how these have evolved over time.

 



Keywords:
"Teaching Excellence Awards" "Academic Staff" "Teaching Awards" academic staff teaching excellence awards 
Doc ID:
138689
Owned by:
Cathy Y. in L&S KB
Created:
2024-07-24
Updated:
2025-10-31
Sites:
L&S KB