Information Box Group
Overview
The President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching & Learning is the highest honour for teaching excellence at McMaster University. Each President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning recognizes the sustained contributions of an individual or group to education through innovation, continued excellence in teaching, and enhanced student learning. It is an award that recognizes sustained and effective achievement with weight given to evidence of continuing effort and outstanding contributions over at least five years.
Outstanding contributions to teaching and learning may be demonstrated by evidence of the intellectual growth of students that results from innovative teaching in the classroom, the mentorship of students through involvement in research or practical experience, the development of novel and effective educational materials, or forms of educational leadership that promote teaching and learning within and beyond McMaster. Outstanding educators should also hone their expertise through professional learning and development.
Recipients of the President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning receive:
- A citation of excellence and certificate to be presented at Spring Convocation;
- An honorarium in the amount of $3,000;
- An inscription of the recipient’s name on a permanent plaque bearing names of all previous award recipients;
- An invitation to the annual President’s Retreat;
- Membership in McMaster’s community of award-winning educators.
Each year, the number of awards may fluctuate depending on the pool of applicants. In previous years, 1-8 awards have been bestowed.
The Nomination Process
If you know an outstanding educator who ensures students have positive and effective learning experiences, please consider nominating them for this award. To nominate an educator, the following steps must be taken:
- Nomination Brief and Abridged CV
Nominators must draft and submit a 2-page nomination brief attesting to the nominee’s quality of teaching and impact on student learning. Nomination briefs are typically submitted by a nominee’s respective Chair or Dean but can be proposed by members of faculty, students, and/or staff.
The nomination brief should be accompanied by an abridged CV for the nominee, which should include only activities and content relating to teaching and learning.
These documents must be submitted in a single PDF file to the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning by 28 October 2024, 11:59 p.m.
- Awards Nomination Portfolio
A shortlist of nominees will be approved by early December to advance to Stage 2. These nominees will develop a 35-page awards portfolio, with support from the MacPherson Institute.
The Awards Nomination Portfolio must be submitted in a single PDF file to the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning by 24 February 2025, 11:59p.m.
Expandable List
All current full-time and part-time faculty and staff (including those who are on contract) who contribute to teaching and learning at McMaster are eligible.
A previous recipient remains eligible, but only based on work completed since the previous award. The nominee and nominator must reference the previous award and clearly identify how the work included in the new portfolio differs from previous work already recognized through this award.
Senior administration (i.e. Associate Deans, Deans) are not eligible to apply for the award while they hold their positions but are encouraged to support and nominate outstanding faculty for the President’s Award. In exceptional circumstances, chairs and directors may be nominated, but must demonstrate outstanding contributions to teaching and learning beyond their regular responsibilities as chair or director.
Nominators must draft and submit a 2-page nomination brief attesting to the nominee’s quality of teaching and impact on student learning, accompanied by an abridged CV summarizing the nominee’s teaching and learning activities.
Who should nominate a candidate?
Nomination briefs are typically submitted by a nominee’s respective Chair or Dean but can be proposed by members of faculty, students, and/or staff.
Can a group of educators be nominated?
Yes! If nominating a group, the nomination brief should clearly explain the collaborative teaching initiative engaged in by a team of educators and why this group is being nominated together, as opposed to individually, with a compelling suite of evidence.
What should be included in the nomination brief?
The nomination brief attests to the nominee’s excellence and effectiveness in teaching, as well as the impact that the nominee has had on student learning. Nominators should discuss the nominee’s particularly innovative teaching, mentoring, educational leadership, and/or development of innovative teaching materials, and highlight compelling evidence that demonstrates sustained impact on enhancing the student learning experience.
Please note: Nominators should be aware that the President’s Award is not intended to celebrate impressive accomplishments more broadly, but to celebrate innovative teaching practices and impacts demonstrated by a faculty member — or, a team of faculty members that are being nominated as a group. For individual or group nominations, clear connections to McMaster’s values and strategic priorities, as well as evidence of impact that reaches across the university and/or externally, would strengthen a nomination.
The nomination brief and abridged CV must be submitted in a single PDF file to the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching & Learning by 28 October 2024, 11:59 p.m.
Please consult the Nomination Portfolio Guide (Guide for Nominators and Nominees – PAOCTL 2025) for more information about creating the full nomination portfolio.
The Selection Committee is approved by the President and will normally include the following members:
- Chair: Appointed by the President
- One faculty member, external to McMaster
- One faculty member, internal to McMaster
- Two previous teaching and learning award recipients (i.e. President’s Award, OCUFA, 3M, D2L)
- One student representative
- Grants and Awards Specialist, Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning (non-voting position)