Jax State Conference USA Faculty Achievement Award

Award Description

In 2023, Jacksonville State University joined Conference USA in all sports.  As such, Jax State faculty are presented with the opportunity to take part in a faculty award opportunity sponsored by C-USA.

The Conference USA Presidents and Chancellors believe in the importance of recognizing, honoring and advancing exceptional achievements of institutional faculty members at the conference level. The Conference USA Faculty Achievement Award and the Conference USA Professor of the Year Award were established to highlight, celebrate, and honor institutional professors who demonstrate a record of outstanding teaching, research, service and/or scholarly activity within their academic discipline.

The Conference USA Faculty Achievement Award recognizes one winner from each C-USA institution who will receive an honorarium of $5,000 and will become the university’s nominee for the Conference USA Professor of the Year Award. The Conference USA Professor of the Year Award is determined by a committee comprised of Provosts from each member institution and individuals will not be eligible to vote for their own nominee. The faculty member chosen for this distinction will receive an additional honorarium of $15,000.

Jax State C-USA Awards

The Jax State Conference USA Faculty Achievement Award winner selected at the 2024 Faculty Awards celebration will go on to represent Jax State as the C-USA Professor of the Year nominee.

This award recognizes faculty members who create opportunities for students to grow intellectually while providing them an atmosphere where they can thrive and succeed while also maintaining an impressive body of scholarly work. The person selected for this honor will receive an honorarium of $5,000 awarded by C-USA, a framed certificate that recognizes this accomplishment, and the opportunity to represent Jax State as the Conference USA Professor of the Year nominee.

Criteria and Eligibility

*The following is a list of criteria set forth by Conference USA:

• Full-time faculty holding the rank of Instructor or higher
• Evidence of teaching excellence beyond the classroom through curricular development, academic planning, and innovative pedagogical methods
• Evidence of scholarship related to teaching and learning through presentations and publications
• Evidence of university service that demonstrate a significant impact on the university community
• Attained regional, national, or international recognition for contributions or achievements within the discipline
• Not be a former recipient of the C-USA Faculty Achievement Award

Nomination Procedures

A faculty athletics representative, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President or designee, and the Faculty Honors Committee will review nomination packets and select the winner. Nominations by self, colleagues, department heads, or deans are encouraged. Only teaching accomplishments during the previous three academic years beginning in Fall 2020 and ending in Summer 2023 will be considered for this award. Nominators should inform nominees that they are being nominated and may solicit their assistance in preparing nomination materials.

Required Nomination Documents

The nomination packet for this award will consist of the following, compiled into one single PDF file in the order indicated. Please contact Faculty Commons if you need assistance compiling documentation into a PDF file.

• One official Letter of Recommendation from an institutional representative (department chair, dean, provost, president) that can provide broad perspectives on the faculty member’s impact at the university but should highlight the basis for endorsement. The letter shall be no longer than two, single spaced pages and addressed to the CUSA Faculty Awards Committee;
• Nominee’s curriculum vitae (limited to five pages);
• An impact statement from faculty member no longer than three, single-spaced pages. The statement can address the following (in the order indicated) but are intentionally broad to ensure all faculty, regardless of discipline, have a framework to articulate their merits for selection.
  1. Area(s) of expertise
  2. Significance of work in the field
  3. Teaching
  4. Mentoring of students or other faculty
  5. Service and engagement
  6. Professional recognitions, awards and honors
  7. Other (e.g., community engagement, relevant personal accomplishments)
• A list of scholarly publications.

Nomination Deadline

All nominations must be submitted electronically via the Faculty Awards nomination form, linked below, no later than 4:30 PM CST on Friday, February 16, 2024.