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Excellence in Teaching Awards: College & School Procedures

The annual UH Mānoa Excellence in Teaching Awards highlight the importance of quality teaching at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The Office of Faculty Development and Academic Support (OFDAS) administers this process.

UH Mānoa Deans & Awards Committees

Updated 10/30/24

The Dean will establish an awards committee to screen nominees and select its finalists. The Committee Chair should be an associate dean or appropriate senior faculty member. The Committee may choose to develop additional college procedures and internal deadlines for application material review.

The Committee shall ensure that:

  • Each nomination falls under their College/School. If it is discovered that a nominee does not fall under their College/School, immediately email OFDAS at ofdas@hawaii.edu so that the nomination(s) may be reassigned.
  • The College/School does not exceed its quota.
  • Each finalist has included summaries of six semesters of student evaluations (see sample form if needed). Maximum of three student comments per class. Raw data should not be included and will not be considered.
  • Each finalist has included the required number of letters of support (minimum of five, maximum of eight). Additional letters should not be included and will not be considered
  • The college/school is encouraged to advise candidates to include only pertinent information and materials that demonstrate creative and innovative teaching in the dossier. An excessive documentation may hinder a thorough and complete review, rather than enhance the presentation and review process and will not increase one’ s chances of a positive outcome.

Announcement Memo (pdf)

Deadline for Finalists’ Dossiers

The College/School must submit the transmittal form and finalists’ edossiers to OFDAS by:

Friday, January 10, 2025

By 3:00 pm

Via UH FileDrop Service
(www.hawaii.edu/filedrop)

Mānoa Awards Committee c/o OFDAS
UH FileDrop recipient: ofdas@hawaii.edu

2024–2025 Timeline

October 18, 2024

OFDAS facilitates the online nomination process. Any student, faculty member, staff, administrator, or alumnus may nominate a faculty member.

October 23, 2024

OFDAS compiles nominations and sends lists to each college/school liaison.

January 10, 2025

The College/School Deans will appoint a committee to select their finalists and submit their e-dossiers to OFDAS.

Jan–April 2025

The campus-wide Mānoa Awards Committee will review the finalists’ dossiers and submit recommendations to the President.

April / May 2025

Award recipients will be announced.

Questions? Contact Us.

eDossier Requirements for Finalists

A single eDossier PDF for each finalist should be organized in separate sections and include:

  • A statement of a philosophy of teaching, maximum of three pages
  • Information on courses taught with number of students and summaries of six semesters of student evaluations using the sample form or similar form. Maximum of three student comments per class. Do not submit raw data.
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Supporting materials demonstrating creative and innovative teaching with only pertinent content to avoid an excessive amount of documentation
  • Letters of support from people with different perspectives (student, colleague, department chair, etc.): minimum of five letters, maximum of eight letters. Additional letters should not be included and will not be considered.

Questions? Contact Us.

Teaching Awards Dossier Library Logo

Teaching Awards Dossier Library

Dossiers of past awardees may be viewed at the Awards dossier library

Entry through Kuykendall 107
M–F, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Please call us at 808-956-9567 to ensure staff availability for access to the library.

Awards

Excellence in Teaching AwardsNumber of Awardees
Board of Regents’ (BOR) Medal for Excellence in Teaching6
Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching6
Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching1

Board of Regents’ (BOR) Medal for Excellence in Teaching

Presidential Citation for Meritorious Teaching

Criteria

Subject Mastery and Scholarship
The teacher demonstrates mastery of the subject matter in courses taught, has the ability to organize, emphasize and clarify ideas, elicit useful questions, communicate knowledge beyond the mere exchange of information. The teacher blends new ideas, research and developments into classroom instruction.

Teaching Effectiveness and Creativity
The teacher has developed effective skills in managing the art and craft of teaching; well-prepared for class, interesting and clear presentations, fair and reasonable evaluation of students, ability to encourage and motivate learning in students. The teacher is open to new techniques and approaches to stimulate learning, and demonstrates these qualities in innovative ways.

Personal Values Beneficial to Students
The teacher has an interest in student learning and the quality of the learning environment, is enthusiastic about teaching, approachable, tolerant of different viewpoints, and sensitive to cultural, ethnic and gender differences among students. The teacher treats students with respect and promotes civility and good relationships among students.

Eligibility

  • Full-time UH Mānoa faculty members with instructional duties and an established record of accomplished teaching for the last three years at UH
  • EWC or Research Institute joint appointees with at least 50% teaching loads during the previous three years up to and including the current Fall semester
  • Faculty who do not meet the strict eligibility criteria (e.g. Specialist Faculty with teaching duties) may include a letter of explanation from the Dean and will be considered on an ad hoc basis by the Mānoa Awards Committee.
  • Board of Regents’ (BOR) Medal for Excellence in Teaching is only awarded once in a lifetime.  Previous BOR award recipients are not eligible for a second BOR nomination or award, but could be eligible for a Presidential Citation.

Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

The Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching is a tribute to the late Frances Davis. An inspired teacher, she taught mathematics at UH Mānoa and UH Leeward for nineteen years. Its purpose is to recognize the teaching excellence of a full-time junior faculty member at the University of Hawai‘i. Candidates should demonstrate a record of dedication to teaching, excellence in the design and instruction of lower division or interdisciplinary undergraduate courses, and exemplar performance to undergraduate students.

Criteria

  • Demonstrated professional expertise as exhibited in teaching success
  • Demonstrated interest and involvement on behalf of students
  • Performance as exemplar for students

Eligibility

Full-time or part-time faculty or lecturers in good standing.