Nominations are open for the University of Nebraska President’s Faculty Excellence Awards, the most prestigious university-wide awards that recognize exceptional teaching, research and innovative efforts. The award recipients will be announced by the president of the university in the spring.
The awards recognize six individual faculty members and one academic department whose work has had a significant impact on students, the university and the state. Winners are selected by a committee of faculty members – and in the case of the engagement award, community members – and receive a monetary prize, a presidential medallion and an engraved plaque.
Read nomination criteria, instructions and information on past winners.
Brief descriptions of the awards and their nomination deadlines follow.
- Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (OTICA): Recognizes individual faculty members who have demonstrated meritorious and sustained records of excellence and creativity in teaching. Nominations due Nov. 1.
- Outstanding Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) Award: Recognizes individual faculty members for outstanding research or creative activity of national or international significance. Nominations due Nov. 15.
- Innovation, Development and Engagement Award (IDEA): Recognizes faculty members who have extended their academic expertise beyond the boundaries of the university in ways that have enriched the broader community. Nominations due Nov. 1.
- University-wide Departmental Teaching Award (UDTA): Recognizes a department or unit within the university that has made a unique and significant contribution to the teaching efforts of the university and which has outstanding esprit de corps in its dedication to the education of students at the undergraduate, graduate or professional level. Nominations due Nov. 1.
Applications and nominations also are being accepted for the university’s highest honors for entrepreneurship. The Peter Kiewit Student Entrepreneurial Award and the Walter Scott Entrepreneurial Business Award recognize students and businesses with ties to the university that are using technology to expand entrepreneurship in our state. If you know of a student or business worthy of recognition, or if you have contacts in your network who can help spread the word, please encourage them to explore information about these President’s Excellence Awards. Nominations are due Nov. 15.
For questions about the IDEA and ORCA research award submissions, contact Pam Welch at 402-559-4837, pswelch@unmc.edu.
For questions about the OTICA and UDTA teaching award submissions, contact Rowen Zetterman, M.D., at 402-559-5108, rzetterman@unmc.edu.