Board of Trustees' Awards for Excellence

DATE: October 24, 2017

TO: Presidents

Chief Academic Officers

Jim Grabowska, President, Inter Faculty Organization

Kevin Lindstrom President, Minnesota State College Faculty

Tracy Rahim, President, Minnesota State University Association of Administrative & Service Faculty

FROM: Ron Anderson, Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs

SUBJECT: Board of Trustees’ Awards for Excellence

I’m pleased to send you the attached guidelines for the 2017-18 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in University Service. It’s a distinct pleasure to be able to acknowledge exceptional college and university teaching as well as exceptional university administrative service in this annual celebration. Award nominations, including the nominees’ portfolios, are due February 1, 2018.

This recognition is the result of the dedicated work of faculty, students, campus and systemwide award committees. Each year, campus committees review nominations and select faculty names to forward to presidents, who in turn designate teaching faculty as Outstanding Educators, and university administrative service faculty as Outstanding Service Faculty Members. Presidents then forward these names to me and to system-level award committees for review. Out of that pool of outstanding faculty, the Board will identify up to four (4) college teaching faculty and up to three (3) university teaching faculty to be named as Educators of the Year. In addition, the Board will name one (1) university administrative service faculty member as the Service Faculty Member of the Year.

At an awards luncheon in April, the Board will honor all Outstanding Educators and Educators of the Year from our colleges and universities, all Outstanding Service Faculty and a Service Faculty Member of the Year. I encourage you, using your own college or university award processes, to send forward your outstanding faculty so that the Board may publicly recognize the extraordinary teaching and service being provided at our colleges and universities and proclaim, on behalf of the entire system, their high esteem for the dedication and accomplishment of Minnesota State faculty.

If you attended the 2017 Celebrating Excellence event last April, I’m sure you felt, as I did, the joyful pride that board members, faculty, students, and campus administrators take in these exceptional teachers and administrative service faculty. Be sure now to reserve the date for this year’s event: April 18, 2018, 10:30 AM to 2:00 PM at the Doubletree Hotel, St. Paul.

Included with this letter are the 2017-18 Guidelines and Forms (PDF) that provides both promotional information and official guidelines. You will find in it an overview for your committee and nominees, plus detailed instructions and necessary forms for compiling the Outstanding Educators and Outstanding Service Faculty Member Portfolios and President’s Recommendation Packets. (The guidelines and forms are also downloadable at http://www.minnstate.edu/system/asa/awards/botawards.) The program is administered by Academic and Student Affairs. Questions may be addressed to the Director for Faculty and Instructional Development, Kimberly Johnson, at 651.201.1443, or botawards@minnstate.edu.

A recommended college and university timeline is described below:

1. October-November 2017: Organize (new or existing) Nomination Committee at each college and university.

2. November 2017: College/university nomination committee solicits nominations from faculty, student body, and administration.

3. By December 2017: College/university nomination committee reviews nominations, selects campus nominees and forwards names to the college/university president.

4. January 2018: College/university president designates campus Outstanding Educator(s) and/or Outstanding Service Faculty Members.

5. January 2018: Outstanding Educators and Outstanding Service Faculty Members prepare portfolios; College/university nomination committee prepares College/University President’s Recommendation Packet(s). Recommendation Packets are then forwarded to president for review.

6. February 1, 2018: Deadline for electronic submission of Outstanding Educator and Outstanding Service Faculty Member recommendations.

7. April 18, 2018: Board of Trustees Awards luncheon.