This award is broadly designed to honor faculty members in the ISA Midwest region who excel in working with students, recognizing that a core part of our work as educators takes place both in and out of the classroom and can significantly impact the lives of our students. The award takes into account that excellence in teaching may take a variety of forms. The award might be made to a faculty member who excels in any (or all) of the following areas (this is not exhaustive):

• Using innovative teaching methods
• Designing a creative new curriculum
• Exceptionally employing experiential learning (service learning, travel abroad, role playing, simulations, case studies, etc.)
• Demonstrating significant professional development over time in the areas of teaching/learning/mentoring
• Sharing their insights on teaching/learning/mentoring with other professionals
• Serving as an outstanding mentor to undergraduate or graduate students
• Engaging students in their research or encouraging the students’ own original research

Nomination Process

Nominations should be made by a colleague who has first hand knowledge of the nominee’s teaching and mentoring record. Self-nominations are not allowed. Nominations should include: 1) a clear description of the teaching/mentoring achievement(s) to be evaluated by the committee; and 2) a current CV from the nominator.

Materials to be Submitted by the Nominee:

1) letters of support (no more than 3) from current or former students of the nominee; 2) a statement of teaching philosophy; 3) a current CV; and 4) additional supportive materials as appropriate (e.g., syllabi, sample assignments, photos, video, web-based or multimedia content, or sample summative work of the class ).

Nominations and materials should be sent to Dr. Carolyn Shaw, Wichita State University, Political Science Department, 1845 Fairmount, Wichita, Kansas 67260-0017. Electronic submissions are welcome and should be emailed to Carolyn Shaw at carolyn.shaw@wichita.edu.

Limitations

The nominee must be a member of ISA Midwest, and/or have attended the conference in the previous five years, and/or be geographically located in the Midwest region. No recipient will be eligible to receive the award more than once.

Deadline

Nominations should be received by: May 15, 2012

Selection Procedure

The selection committee consists of three ISA Midwest faculty members (may include Board members). The faculty will review the nominations and select the nominee that best exemplifies excellence in teaching and mentoring, taking into consideration whether the nominee has made efforts to assess and revise her/his materials over time, and whether she/he has sought to disseminate her/his practices to others on her/his home campus or in the broader community. Committee members should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from reviewing any nominee from their own institution or any of their former students.

Award Recognition

The recipient will be honored at the annual ISA-Midwest conference. A special roundtable or panel will spotlight his/her contributions to teaching and share his/her innovations with others.

2012 Award Committee

Carolyn Shaw, Wichita State University, carolyn.shaw@wichita.edu (Chair)
Sue Davis, Denison University, davissf@denison.edu
Ralph Carter, Texas Christian University, R.Carter@tcu.edu