University Faculty Senate Awards Guidelines

The University Faculty Senate recognizes outstanding faculty achievements through annual awards in advising, community engagement, research, service, and teaching.  Awards are not intended as a career retrospective, but rather focus on the nominee's previous year’s work.  Awards include an honorarium.  The Senate may elect to recognize more than one recipient in any one year for outstanding performance.  The Senate may elect not to make an award in any of the categories in any one year.

Eligibility:

All full-time faculty at Loyola with a minimum of one-year at Loyola are eligible to be considered for an award.  Individuals who have received an award may not receive an award in the same category for a period of three years.  Self-nominations are encouraged.  Award nominees or Senators who nominate an individual for an award category may not serve on that year's ad hoc Senate award selection committee.

Process:

The annual award process is overseen by an ad hoc committee of Senate members selected annually at the October meeting by the Senate as a whole, or by the Senate Executive Council with the approval of the Senate.  The Senate Faculty Awards Selection Committee should include Senate representatives from the different colleges, which house tenure track/tenured faculty, to the extent practicable.  The University Faculty Senate Chair serves ex officio on the Committee.

The University Faculty Senate Chair will send out a call for nominations, including self-nominations, to all faculty by October 15, with a November 1 deadline for nominations.  Nominations should include a description of the activities that led to the nomination.  Nominees are contacted after the nomination period is closed to allow for submission of additional supporting materials.  Additional supporting materials must be submitted by November 15.

Supporting materials, submitted either as part of the initial nomination or as additional materials by the nominee, may include the following: 

1. a letter or narrative statement from the candidate outlining activities in the area of the award nomination, focusing on activities during the previous academic year
2. up to three letters of support from faculty and staff colleagues; this may include faculty at other institutions, staff from international, governmental or community agencies,
3. up to three letters of support from current and former students

The selection committee will review all materials and meet to select the final award recipients by December 15, when the names of the award recipients are due to the Provost, to facilitate the engravement of the awards and the preparation of the honorarium.  Award recipients are announced at the spring convocation.  The identity of the award recipients is confidential until they are announced at the convocation, although the University Faculty Senate chair will notify the recipients themselves after they are selected.

These Guidelines will remain in effect as of April 20, 2023 until amended by the University Faculty Senate.