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Office of the President

The University of Montana

Distinguished Teaching Award

The $1,500 Distinguished Teaching Award is an extraordinary honor bestowed on those faculty who, regardless of rank, have exhibited a history of excellence in classroom teaching and have demonstrated a quality long-term impact upon their students.


Who is eligible:
Any tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has not previously received a Distinguished Teaching Award.

Who may nominate:
All UM faculty, deans and department chairpersons. (No self-nominations.) Documentation may be compiled by the nominee, his or her chairperson or any faculty member, although it is typically forwarded by the chair.
Nomination requirements:
-completed nomination form.
-nomination letter (limited to two pages).

Unsuccessful nomination information from previous years may be made current and resubmitted.

The best letters of nomination tend to include specific detail that supports the generalizations made about teaching excellence.

Additional materials for selected finalists:

The Advisory Board for the Center for Teaching Excellence will select up to four finalists for the award and solicit additional information for those candidates, including:

-a list of courses taught.
-teaching evaluations.
-evidence of multiple strategies for good classroom teaching.
-assessment plans that demonstrate student learning.
-letters of support.
-authored textbooks and laboratory manuals used outside UM.
-authored papers on teaching techniques in education journals.
-evidence of students' success following graduation.
-presentations relative to teaching methods.
-statement of nominee's teaching philosophy
-any other evidence of distinguished teaching.

Send initial nominations by Friday, 5 February 2010, to:
Arlene Walker-Andrews
Office of the Provost
University Hall 126
Deadline for finalist materials:
Friday, 26 February 2010
All awards will be presented at the:
Faculty and Staff Awards Reception
April 2010 (exact date TBA)
4 to 6 p.m.
University Center Ballroom

2008-2009 Winner

Image Forthcoming

James Jacobs

Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Previous recipients include Sara Hayden, Jill M. Belsky, Maryellen Campbell, David Friend, and Ramona Gray.

Chairperson will have award recipient's name to the Office of the President no later than 24 March.

University Hall 109

The University of Montana

Missoula, Montana 59812

(406) 243-2311; (406) 243-2797 (Fax)

prestalk@umontana.edu