President’s Council faculty award redesigned to be more inclusive and easier to apply


The President’s Council has redesigned the Outstanding Faculty Award given at Faculty Convocation to encourage greater participation from around the university. The award will now be known as the President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award.

The nomination process has been streamlined into an online form. Also, the criteria have been clarified and broadened to be more inclusive of the many ways faculty members do outstanding work.

All full-time faculty who have been employed at FIU for a minimum of three years are eligible to apply. The award recipient receives $12,500 and two finalists each receive $2,000.

“The intent of this award is to honor FIU’s best faculty members, from scientific researchers to prestigious historians to hospitality pacesetters,” said President’s Council Chairman Victor Balestra. “We felt it was time to modernize the process and align the criteria with the direction of the university.”

Earlier this year, the President’s Council set out to redesign the 10-year-old award with input from faculty and the Faculty Senate Honorary Degree and Awards Committee Chair. In years past, it became clear that there were misconceptions among the faculty about who was eligible to apply.

The first step the President’s Council took was to clarify that faculty from any discipline or college can be nominated. The Council also eliminated the cumbersome paper application process and put it entirely online. The award now allows for nominations by fellow faculty members, as well as self-nominations.

The Council modified the selection criteria to align with the university’s five-year strategic plan and the attributes of FIU’s Worlds Ahead brand. The President’s Council award will now recognize faculty who:

  • Are student centered in teaching or mentorship or advising
  • Engage in research or partnerships or creative initiatives that make an impact in their field or in the community or in the world
  • Exceed expectations through innovations in the classroom or service to the university or through leadership

Engineering Professor Arvind Agarwal, the 2010 recipient of the President’s Council Award

Engineering Professor Arvind Agarwal, the 2010 recipient of the President’s Council Award, participated in the redesign of the award. “The changes,” he said, “will encourage more faculty to apply for this prestigious honor.”

Past winners of the Outstanding Faculty Award have also been brought into the process. They will serve as a screening committee that will review the applications and recommend a list of finalists to the President’s Council.

History professor Darden Pyron, the 2008 recipient, will be among the members of the new screening committee. Receiving the award, he said, was humbling given the extraordinary group of winners who came before him.

“Being honored with the President’s Council award was the greatest distinction I have won in over 40 years of academic service,” Pyron said.  “Indeed, the year I won, I might have assumed they picked the wrong name when I checked out Kinzy Jones’ vita.  His selection the next year relieved my conscience.  Acknowledging these matters prompted my decision to give back to the university a lump of the prize money that went with the award.  I intended this gesture as an affirmation that the university itself and the inspiration of colleagues were also victors.”

The new nomination process also introduces, for the first time, a personal interview with the President’s Council. Balestra said the council felt it was important to give the finalists and the Council an opportunity meet and discuss the faculty member’s work.

The new process is as follows:

1. Submit: Online nominations accepted through May 9. Here is the link: http://go.fiu.edu/pcaward

2. Review: Nominations reviewed by a committee of past President’s Council Faculty Award winners and the chair of the Faculty Senate Honorary Degree & Award Committee.

3. Recommendation: Review committee will recommend a group of semi-finalists to the President’s Council

4. Interviews: Semi-finalists invited to interview with the President’s Council

5. Finalists: The President’s Council will consult with the FIU Provost and President to finalize its selections for the award recipients.

6. Award: The President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award will be conferred at Faculty Convocation

The President’s Council is a group of professional, business and civic leaders from South Florida who serve as FIU’s brand ambassadors, promote FIU’s academic programs and achievements and contribute to the university’s future through dialogue with the university’s top administration. Membership to the President’s Council is by invitation only, extended from the University President, Senior Vice President of External Relations, Provost or Council Chairman upon receiving a nomination.

Each member of the President’s Council makes an annual $1,500 cash contribution to the university. A portion of this donation goes toward supporting the Council’s major initiatives, including the faculty award endowment.

President’s Council Outstanding Award recipients

2001: Naphtali Rishe, College of Arts & Sciences – Computer Science

2002: Arun Prakash, College of Business Administration – Finance

2003: Mira Wilkins, College of Arts & Sciences – Economics

2004: Christos Koulamas, College of Business Administration – Decision Sciences

2005: Kenneth Furton, College of Arts & Sciences – Chemistry

2006: Nancy Wellman, School of Public Health – Diets & Nutrition

2007: Krishnan Dandapani, College of Business Administration – Finance

2008: Darden Pyron, College of Arts & Sciences – History, Honors College Fellow

2009: W. Kinzy Jones, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical and Materials Engineering

2010: Arvind Agarwal, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical and Materials Engineering

 

 

Comments are closed.