Faculty of the Year Award

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Purpose:

The purpose of this award is to recognize the extraordinary contributions and quality service of faculty members supporting the mission of South Texas College. The Faculty of the Year (FOTY) award honors faculty who are committed to excellence in the five main areas of faculty performance:

  • Teaching and Learning
  • Student Success
  • Professional Development
  • Leadership and College Service
  • Community Service and Creating a College-Going Culture

Benefits:

  • During Convocation at the beginning of each fall semester, the Faculty of the Year will be recognized and receive a plaque of recognition.
  • The Academic Affairs web page will highlight the FOTY award recipient.
  • FOTY award recipients will be highlighted in the South Texas College Faculty Spotlight.
  • FOTY award recipients will give a short speech on teaching excellence Academic Affairs Convocation the following year.
  • FOTY recipients will become part of an instructional resource group.

Eligibility:

  • Current South Texas College full-time faculty and lecturers who teach online, hybrid or face-to-face classes and have not received the award within the last five years are eligible for nomination.
  • Nominee must have completed at least three years of employment at South Texas College (employment need not be continuous).
  • Self-nominations will not be accepted.
  • Administrators are ineligible for nominations.

Selection Criteria:

  • Teaching and Learning - A record of superior accomplishment in the area of excellence in teaching and learning should contain clear and compelling evidence related to
    • Instructional quality and contributions to curricular development;
    • Success and effectiveness in student development and learning;
    • Contributions as a teacher outside the classroom leading to student success; and
    • Meaningful connections between the nominee’s participation in the discipline and teaching.
  • Student Success – A record of superior accomplishment in the area of outstanding commitment to student success should contain clear and compelling evidence related to
    • Demonstrated commitment to student advising and mentoring;
    • Strategies implemented to guide students to become more active learners;
    • Methods developed to help students understand their majors and professional opportunities; and
    • Methods implemented that have motivated students to learn.
  • Professional Development - A record of superior accomplishment in the area of professional development should contain clear and compelling evidence related to
    • Activities taken to stay current in the discipline;
    • Faculty development activities engaged in during the last year;
    • Opportunities to observe a peer’s teaching other than through the official classroom observation process.
  • Leadership and College Service - A record of superior accomplishment in the area of excellence in leadership and college service should contain clear and compelling evidence related to
    • Faculty involvement in committee work and student clubs at the College, regional, or national level, and role in these committees;
    • Participation in the revision or development of a new program in the faculty’s discipline; and
    • Scholarly pursuits including publications, journals, books, performances, or exhibits.
  • Community Service and Creating a College-Going Culture - A record of superior accomplishment in the area of excellence in community service and creating a college-going culture should contain clear and compelling evidence related to
    • Participation in outreach activities with the community including visits with area school districts, colleges, or universities; and
    • Speaking engagements at community events regarding STC programs and services.

Procedure:

  • Committee formation: Each division will nominate one faculty representative for the FOTY Committee.
  • Committee Chair: The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) will lead the recognition efforts with the Associate Dean acting as the Committee Chair but non-voting member.
  • Committee membership: The FOTY Committee membership may include faculty and students.
  • Committee responsibilities: The FOTY Committee will have the chance to review and evaluate the nominations. After reviewing all nominations, the committee will submit their final recommendation in writing to the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
  • Timeline: The committee will finalize their recommendation by the end of April and forward the names of the faculty nominee along with the one-page nomination form to the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and the TLC.

Nomination Process:

  1. The TLC will open the nomination period from the beginning of the spring semester until the beginning of March.
  2. After collecting nominations, the TLC will reach out to the nominated faculty members and collect additional information including:
    • Current CV
    • Syllabus (from the most recent academic year)
    • Responses on criteria listed below (Responses will be limited to 500 words per criteria.
  3. Nominated faculty will submit their materials electronically to the TLC by the beginning of April. The TLC will forward materials to the FOTY Committee. Faculty who fail to submit the required documentation will no longer be eligible to receive the award.
  4. The FOTY Committee will meet, review nominations, and finalize the recommendation process by beginning of May.
  5. Members of the FOTY Committee may not nominate or support candidates for any award.  If a committee member is nominated for the award, he or she must recuse him or herself from the committee.
  6. The FOTY Chair will complete the one-page nomination form, based on the input from the Committee, and submit it to the Vice President and Provost for Academic Affairs during the first week of May.
  7. During the first week of May, the Chair of the Award Committee will submit the final nomination name(s) to the Human Resources Department to ensure the nominee(s) is in good standing and to the nominee(s)' immediate supervisor for final approval.
  8. The award recipient as well as nominees who were not selected for FOTY will be notified by email of the final decision by the end of June.

Previous Awardees
YEAR NAME DISCIPLINE
2023 Alex Sarabia Psychological Science
2022 Date adjusted to reflect calendar year *
2021 Dr. Rosemond Moore Business Administration
2020 Dr. Jennifer Guerra Culinary Arts
2019 Dr. Esmeralda Adame Advanced Manufacturing Technology
2018 Jenny Chamberlain Sociology
2017 Reynaldo Sanchez III Design and Building Technology
2016 Delia Magdaleno World Languages
2015 Rachael Brown Art
2014 Rene Zuniga Education
2013 *
2012 *
2011 Victor Gomez, Jr. History
2010 Dr. Mehrzad Mahmoudian Geller Biology
2009 Paul Wendland Culinary Arts
2008 Adalia Reyna Developmental Reading
2007 Charles M. Robinson History
2006 Ludivina Avila Chemistry
2005 Mohammad Kazerani Mathematics
2004 Jayaprakash Ramanujam Economics
2003 Dr. Morteza Abbassi Biology
2002 Dr. Michael Bagley Engineering
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