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College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

College of Liberal Arts
and Social Sciences
The University of Houston
402 Agnes Arnold Hall
Houston, TX 77204-3000
Phone: 713-743-4002
Fax: 713-743-2990

Ross M. Lence Awards Nominations

Nominations now open for Ross M. Lence Awards for Teaching Excellence

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) invites you to nominate a faculty member for this year's Teaching Excellence Awards, named in memory of our former colleague Ross M. Lence, one of the University of Houston’s best teachers.  This year, three awards will be presented to CLASS faculty members deemed worthy of recognition. There will be one award for teaching in each of three categories:  Visual/Performing Arts; Social Sciences; and Humanities. The category is NOT based on the nominee’s department. Nominees must indicate the teaching category based on the kind of teaching they do. Nominations are valid for two years for those not selected in the first year of their nomination. Faculty nominated in the spring of 2011 may update their files, or withdraw their names from consideration by notifying David Phillips, Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, phila@central.uh.edu. Winners will receive a $3,000 bonus.

The deadline for nominations is at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

The eligibility criteria for this year's award are:

  1. The recipient must be in at least the third year of full-time faculty service in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
  2. The award is for undergraduate and/or graduate teaching excellence over a period of years and not for one year's performance alone.
  3. Previous winners, members of the selection committee, and deans are ineligible.

Anyone may nominate a CLASS faculty member for the award. Blank nomination forms and cover sheets are available at www.class.uh.edu, and are attached to this message. Complete Applications must be submitted by Tuesday 6 March 2012

The application should be a single PDF with the name [NAME DEPARTMENT CATEGORY LENCE AWARD SUBMISSION 2012] (So (e.g.) materials for J.M. Keynes from Economics being proposed for a social science teaching award would be named "J.M. Keynes Economics Social Science Lence Award Submission 2012") to Dr. Amy O'Neal, aoneal@uh.edu:

The PDF Must Include, in this order:

  1. Nomination form with supporting letter.
  2. Cover Sheet from the nominee indicating the teaching category. This sheet must be signed by the nominee's Chair or Director.
  3. Nominee's current vita.
  4. A personal essay on teaching (no more than 3 pages) from the nominee, along with any related supporting material (list of courses taught, course syllabi, any special projects or activities).
  5. At least three but no more than five letters of recommendation from students, colleagues, alumni-- no more than two from any one group.
  6. Tabulated student teaching evaluation scores for all courses taught during the 2010-11 and 2009-10 academic years. Tabulate numerical scores on the 2 key questions (overall quality of course and overall quality of instructor) compared to departmental and college means. The same numerical data from the 2008-9, 2007-8, and 2007-7 academic years may also be included.

This is the first time we have handled submissions for this award electronically. No doubt there will be some teething problems in moving to electronic submission. Feel free to contact David Phillips, Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, phila@central.uh.edu, to help resolve them.

The selection committee will evaluate the teaching excellence of each nominee as demonstrated by these materials and determine the recipients of this year's award. Its decision is final.

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