Faculty & Staff Presidential Achievement Awards

Distinguished Achievement in Teaching

This category of distinguished achievement recognizes a faculty member for teaching excellence at the undergraduate or graduate level. This faculty member demonstrates an ongoing commitment to excellence and continues to elevate the standards of instruction to enrich University students. Individuals who receive this recognition incite intellectual curiosity within students and inspire their colleagues within and outside of his/her department.

Nominees for this award must have:

• Maintained a consistent record of outstanding teaching performance at the University
• Implemented innovative teaching methods to better reinforce student learning
• Interacted enthusiastically and effectively with students beyond the classroom (i.e. office hours, mentoring)
• Promoted a love of learning that contributes to the likelihood of student retention

Award

• $750 monetary award
• Certificate of Achievement
• Maximum recipients - 3

Distinguished Achievement in Research and Grants

This category of distinguished achievement recognizes faculty for excellence in research and grants. The faculty member is recognized for engaging and excelling in productive and meaningful research activities that contribute to knowledge in his or her field of study and/or expertise, or which could result in the development of future or useful educational/academic products. Staff members may also qualify for this award.

Nominees for this award must have provided a statement of research that includes:

• A discussion of intellectual merit or the clearly defined research area or problem
• The importance/potential impact of the research
• Innovation and originality of research
• Awards and/or grants received
• Publications which may have resulted from the research
• Partnerships involved in the research (year of publication)

Award

• $750 monetary award
• Certificate of Achievement
• Maximum recipients - 3

Distinguished Achievement in Service

Service to the University

This category of distinguished achievement recognizes a faculty and/or staff member who provides exceptional and continuous service to faculty, staff, and students. Their service contributes to the personal, professional, academic, or social development of the University and the campus community. Service can include participation with governance groups or committees to advance the mission of the University; or serving on a state, national, or international service committee.

Service to the Community

Service to the University - This category of distinguished achievement recognizes a faculty and/or staff member who provides exceptional and continuous service to faculty, staff, and students. Their service contributes to the personal, professional, academic, or social development of the University and the campus community. Service can include participation with governance groups or committees to advance the mission of the University; or serving on a state, national, or international service committee.

Service to the Community - This category of distinguished achievement recognizes a faculty and/or staff member who provides extraordinary service to the community. Their contribution must be impactful and makes a significant difference. Consideration will be given to the community service contributions that reflects positively on Bowie State University and its students. 

Nominees for this award must have:

• Maintained a "Meets Standards" for work performance
• A recommendation from their committee chair acknowledging their work/work ethic
• A letter from the head of the organization indicating the level of impact the provided service had on the organization. The letter must also indicate the duration of the service (e.g. when the service began and when it ended)

Award

• $750 monetary award
• Certificate of Achievement
• Maximum recipients - 3

Distinguished Achievement in Performance

This category of distinguished achievement recognizes a staff member who excels in all aspects of their position, possesses excellent work ethic and have an extraordinary impact within the department as a role model - connecting with faculty, staff, and students. This individual not only exceeds performance expectations within the department, but also provides outstanding and ongoing excellence in services to faculty, staff, students, and/or other customers.

Nominees for this award must have consistently performed their work in an exceptional manner for a period of at least two years. Exceptional performance factors include:

• Surpassed the requirements of their job description
• Anticipated the needs of the supervisor and the customer
• Performed their job duties with excellence (e.g. willingly support faculty in the department; providing commitment and support to students)
• Followed up with customers with a positive attitude
• Striven to defuse problems with co-workers and others in their department
• Served as the subject matter expert on administrative matters in the office
• Be known for their competence in carrying out duties

Award

• $750 monetary award
• Certificate of Achievement
• Maximum recipients - 3

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General Eligibility

The nominees*, including self-nominees, must:

• Be employed at the University for one year; and
• Must be in good standing with the university (e.g. performance must meet standards)

Please note that the Office of Human Resources will seek feedback from the Department head and Dean, as well as the Department Budget Head for the Distinguished Acheivement Awards in Teaching and Performance respectively prior to submitting nomination packets to the Awards Committee.

*Cabinet members are ineligible for the Presidential Achievement Award Program.

Presidential Achievement Awards Guidelines Booklet (pdf)

Nomination Package

A complete nomination Package must be received by the established deadline for consideration.  The package should not exceed a total of 10 pages and should not include documents that must be returned back to the nominee.

All nomination packages should include the following:

1. Nomination Form (pdf)
2. Biography, Resume, or Professional Vita must be submitted for all faculty and
3. Position Description for faculty (if available) and staff (required) must be included – this document must provide details of the nominee’s daily responsibilities and must be signed by the supervisor
4. Letters of Recommendation – Include two one-page (maximum) letters of recommendation that discuss what makes this individual exceptional in the category nominated
5. Supporting Materials – Additional material may be included (e.g. various types of recognition, letters of commendation, awards, etc.).

Submission

If you are interested in applying for or nominating a colleague for an award, please complete and submit an application form to the following email: facultyandstaffawards@bowiestate.edu, by March 15, 2024. After submission, you can expect an automatic response within 24 hours. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact Mary Ogan x23455.

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The President of the University or a designee shall approve Achievement Awards Committee members for each academic year. The selection of the committee members will be made by the governance groups for approval by the President.

Faculty

The composition of the faculty committee should include three faculty members identified by Faculty Senate; one student identified by the GSA President; and one student identified by the SGA President. The members shall decide within 30 days, the faculty members recommended to receive the Distinguished Awards for the designated areas. The President of the University makes the final decision.

Staff

The composition of the staff committee should include two staff members identified by the Staff Council; one AFSCME Bargaining Unit staff member identified by the AFSCME President; and one MCEA Bargaining Unit staff member identified by the MCEA President. The members shall decide within 30 days, the staff members recommended to receive the Distinguished Awards for the designated areas. The President of the University makes the final decision.

Joint Faculty and Staff

The Faculty and Staff Achievement Awards Committees shall form a Joint Committee when both faculty and staff are nominees for the same award (e.g. Service Award and Research Grants Award). The composition of the Joint Committee shall be the same as outlined in the above faculty and staff committees; however, the review process shall continue if the member(s) from the represented groups are not in attendance.

Achievement Committee Review Process

The Achievement Award committee review process is as follows:

1. Screening of all nomination packages
2. Committee will make a decision and provide a written recommendation of the successful candidate(s) to the President

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