Regents' Professorship

Recipients of distinguished professorships are deemed to have achieved unusual distinction in teaching and guidance of students research, or service.  To qualify for a Regents' Professorship, a faculty member must have rendered outstanding service to the University, to the academic community, or to an academic or professional discipline. through extraordinary achievement in academic administration or professional service.  The appointment is continuous until retirement.

Policy

REGENTS' PROFESSORSHIP

The Regents’ Professorship recognizes a faculty member who has rendered outstanding service to the academic community or to an academic or professional discipline through extraordinary achievement in academic administration or professional service.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

ELIGIBILITY

Nominees must be full-time faculty members who hold regular faculty appointments. The faculty member must have been a University of Oklahoma employee during the period for which the outstanding contributions are being recognized; previous accomplishments at other institutions, if applicable, may be used in support of a continued outstanding performance. Persons named Regents’ Professors are not eligible in subsequent years for a Presidential Professorship. Recipients are eligible for a David L. Boren Professorship, David Ross Boyd Professorship, and George Lynn Cross Research Professorship.


NOMINATION PROCEDURES

Initiation. The Senior Vice President and Provosts will solicit recommendations for the professorship by September 15 and announce appropriate schedules for processing the nominations. Furthermore, the solicitations will be posted on the appropriate campus website, for access by nominators and faculty on all campuses.

Recommendations. Nominations should derive from administrative leaders at OU, including administrative officers, current and former department chairs, college Deans, and Provosts. Packets must be assembled by the nominee's administrative and/or evaluatory unit. Nominations are due to the respective Senior Vice President and Provost by November 1.

Supporting Documentation.  Nomination packets must include the following, not to exceed 25 pages combined:

  • A letter of nomination, not to exceed seven single-spaced pages;
     
  • Customized Vita containing the relevant information pertaining to the accomplishments and criteria cited for the award;
     
  • A short biography (about 100 words) highlighting the nominee's most significant accomplishments, and written for a general audience.

In addition, the nomination packet may also include up to five letters of support, either internal or external, but favoring at least two external letters. Letters must specifically address the criteria of the Professorship. These letters of support will not count toward the 25-page limit.


SELECTION PROCEDURES

Review. The University Council on Faculty Awards and Honors shall consider only the formal nominations. The Council shall forward to the Senior Vice President and Provosts its recommendation(s) for their review. The Council also shall transmit all substantiating materials pertaining to all nominees.

Selection.  The Senior Vice President and Provosts will review the nomination materials and the Council’s recommendations and will forward their recommendations, along with all substantiating materials, by February 1 to the President, who will make recommendations to the Board of Regents. The final selection of the recipient(s) will be made by the Board of Regents.


PERQUISITES

In the year of designation as a Regents’ Professor, the person receiving the award will receive a one-time award of up to $7,000 and a permanent salary increase of 7% on the University base salary or $7,000, whichever is greater, starting in the subsequent fiscal year.


TERM OF THE AWARD

The term of a Regents’ Professor is continuous until retirement or separation from the University.

 

(Regents, 5‑11‑78, 3-15-89, 9-26-95, 1-27-04, 3-25-09, 12-7-12, 9-14-17, 9-11-19)

 

Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR NOMINATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR UNIVERSITY AWARDS
 


The University Council on Faculty Awards and Honors (UCFAH) requests that the following guidelines are followed for nominations submitted for the following University awards:

David L Boren Professorship  •  David Ross Boyd Professorship  •  Regents' Awards (Superior Teaching, Superior Research and Creative Activity, Superior Professional and University Service)  •  University Distinguished Teaching Award


PLEASE NOTE: To prepare dossiers for Presidential Professorships, George Lynn Cross Research Professorships, and Provost's Awards, please refer to these particular awards for specific requirements.


  • ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF NOMINATIONS  

An electronic dossier for each nomination is to be submitted by the Dean's Office, via email, to the Provost's Office for placement on a secure website accessible to University Council on Faculty Awards and Honors members only.

  • HARD COPY NOMINATIONS

Hard copy dossiers (one unbound copy) are still required for departmental and college review committees, the Dean, the Provost, and the President.  FOLDERS AND NOTEBOOKS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.  Double-sided copying of the materials in the dossier is encouraged wherever possible to reduce volume and weight.  DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS.

  • FACULTY AWARDS COVER PAGE No other cover document will be accepted.

  • ONE PAGE INDEX


THE FOLLOWING SEQUENCE SHOULD BE FOLLOWED (not to exceed 25 pages):

  • Letter of Nomination (no more than 7 single spaced pages for Distinguished Professorships, no more than 3 singled spaced pages for other awards)

This is the most important part of the application and should be written with that in mind. It should describe the nominee's impact on the scholarly and overall professional development of the students they teach and mentor. It should also outline the candidate’s qualifications for the award and be a synopsis of the entire application.  The letter must point out how the candidate meets the requirements for the award.  Look at the criteria for selection and address each point.  Include innovative teaching, research or service.  The letter should be in plain English without jargon and technical terms.  The nominator should distinguish between normal (expected) faculty performance and extraordinary achievements.

  • Short Biography (about 100 words) highlighting the nominee's most significant accomplishments and written for a general audience.

  • Customized Vitae that contains the relevant information pertaining to the accomplishments being cited for the award consideration

Additional document(s) (not counted towards the 25-page limit):

  • Letters of Support 

No more than 5 letters total. It is wise to solicit more letters than can be used then select from those the most appropriate to include in the application.  Letters should be limited to 5 or fewer pages and specifically address award criteria. Additional letters will be removed.

David L. Boren Professorship (Required): Letters from nationally or internationally recognized experts in the nominee’s area of expertise. The letters should include 2 for research/scholarly activity, 1 for teaching, and 1 for service/outreach.

David Ross Boyd Professorship (Required): Of the 5, no more than 3 letters from students or student groups.

Regents' Professorship (Optional): Letters can be either internal or external, but favoring at least two external letters. Letters must specially address the criteria of the Professorship.

Regents' Awards (Optional): Include letters from students, current or graduate, OU faculty, or professional colleagues. For teaching awards, letters from students are appropriate; whereas letters from professional colleagues are suitable for research awards.  Service awards should be supported by letters from other faculty or individuals who have worked with the candidate in service-related areas.

University Distinguished Teaching Award (Required): Letters may come from current or former students, student organizations, faculty colleagues, alumni, department chairs, or others familiar with evaluating the individual’s teaching effectiveness at the undergraduate level.

Other Supporting Materials

  • Letter from the College Dean (Optional)

This letter will focus on evaluatory comments regarding the quality and significance of the nominee's impact on the broader OU mission.


In accordance with Regents' policy, only one nomination by an academic unit or other nominating group of faculty is allowed for each of the Regents’ Awards (teaching, research and creative activity, and professional and university service).

 

*The nomination packet should contain only the items listed above unless stated otherwise *

 


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