Academy of Distinguished Teachers Nominations

Outstanding teaching is evidenced by many factors. Outstanding teachers engage students in the learning process and motivate students to succeed inside the classroom as well as outside the classroom. Outstanding teachers seek to use a variety of teaching methods to reach students regardless of their individual learning styles. Outstanding teachers are demanding but fair, clearly communicating their expectations for students and hold students to these expectations. Outstanding teachers challenge students at all levels in their classrooms and encourage collaborative learning among their students. Outstanding teachers engage in active assessment of the learning of their students and seek to improve their teaching to ensure even greater student learning in the future.

The selection criteria for this award will mirror that of the MSU Grisham Master Teacher award. The same evaluation form will be used.

Download form (pdf)

The Associate Dean will serve as chair of the selection committee along with three faculty members. The committee will also include three students. The faculty representatives will be selected from members of the Academy. The student members will be chosen by the presidents of the MSU chapters of the Engineering Student Council, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers.

Faculty may be nominated by any individual student, student organization, department head, or faculty member in the College. The selection committee will work with the nominees to inform them of their nomination and to guide them in the development of their nomination packet. Nominees must submit an electronic (pdf) nomination packet to the chair of the selection committee. Details about items to include in the nomination packet are described below. Nomination packets for winning nominees become the property of the College of Engineering and will be available for review by persons who have been nominated in future years or individuals considering making a nomination.

Nominations due: February 15
Final application packets due: March 30

All nomination information should be emailed to Brenda Grebner at bgrebner@bagley.msstate.edu.

The nomination packets for the Academy of Distinguished Teachers will mirror that of the Grisham Master Teacher application and will consist of the following information:

• Nomination letter from a colleague, department head, dean, student, MSU graduate, or other professional associate.
• Three letters of support from faculty and/or administrative colleagues or superiors.
• Three letters of support from former students (at least two must be from students who have graduated within the last five years).
• Teaching vita (maximum of five pages on teaching-related content): courses taught and developed, research and scholarship in teaching, teaching awards, etc.
• Nominee’s statement of educational/teaching philosophy (not to exceed two pages).
• Description and evidence of teaching method and assessment of student learning (not to exceed 15 pages).
• Summary of student evaluations in courses taught over the past five years (include copies of official statistical summaries for all courses taught and evaluated AND prepare a one- to two-page summary table listing the means for each official university evaluation question for each course taught and evaluated, noting course number, title or abbreviated title, and semester and year; do NOT include individual student response sheets and do not go beyond the past five years).