Faculty Handbook

7.11 MINNIE STEVENS PIPER AWARD

From Faculty Handbook Approved June 1988

Each year students at the University of Houston-Clear Lake have an opportunity to nominate, from the faculty, outstanding teachers. The name and credentials of one of these outstanding teachers will be recommended for a Minnie Stevens Piper Award, a state award that recognizes outstanding college/university teaching throughout the state of Texas.

1. Procedures for Piper Nominations

1.1 Nominations

The Piper Committee solicits nominations from graduating students. A signed form allowing students to nominate one or more faculty members who have contributed the most to their education at UH-Clear Lake will be included in the graduating student packet. The Chair of the committee will write the nominee, telling them they have been nominated.

1.2 Award Selection

A short list of finalists is created by the following procedures:

1.2.1 The list of nominees is rank ordered by number of nominations received during the previous year.

1.2.2 A ratio is computed by dividing the total number of nominations received by a faculty member by the number of credit hours generated by that faculty for the previous academic year. The list is again rank ordered by the number of nominations per 1,000 hours generated.

1.2.3 Finalists will be those faculty members who appear in the top five positions on one or both lists.

1.2.4 Individuals on leave will be eligible to be finalists in the year in which they return to full-time teaching.

1.2.5 Finalists will be asked to assemble a profile of their teaching credentials which will include philosophy and approach to teaching, courses taught, technical proficiency and student reaction. The finalist will work with a faculty and student committee member in assembling this profile.

1.2.6 The committee selects up to three recipients for the University Teaching Award and designates one of these recipients as the University's nominee for the State Piper Award.

1.3 Follow-up

All of the deliberations of the committee are confidential. However, the Chair of the committee is responsible for disseminating the following information:

1.3.1 A report of the process to the Executive Committee and the Faculty Senate including a statistical analysis of the nominations received.

1.3.2 A letter to Deans and Associate Deans informing them which faculty member in their school or program received nominations and who were selected as finalists and recipients.

1.3.3 A report to the whole faculty on the recipients of the award and the reasons that the committee considered them outstanding teachers.

2. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate Appoints the Faculty Members to the Piper Committee.

2.1 The nominees from the previous year are to serve if they are willing.

2.2 Other members are to serve as the Executive Committee sees fit.

2.3 The final committee must have at least one representative from each school.

3. The Student Forum Appoints One Student From Each School as Members to the Committee.

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