Nominate a Professor!

Stage 1. Notification

Each year, in September, the Barbour and Cohen University Committee will distribute information to all deans and heads of academic units; to students via government, student groups, and news media; and to alumni via news media.

Stage 2. Nominations

Nominations may come only from students and alumni and must not be solicited by faculty or administrators. Nominations must be submitted to the Chair of the University of Cincinnati Barbour and Cohen Awards Committee by Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. Ben Hofstetter will inform the nominee and the nominee's department of the nomination. Only nominations sent via the United States or University Postal System or e-mail will be processed. Nominations sent via fax or voice-mail will not be accepted. Nominations letters need to be limited to no more than one page. The dossier (see below) sent later will provide full documentation of the nomination.
 

Stage 3. Department Action

As soon as the nominations are received, a process should be initiated to collect and organize support data in the form of a dossier. The nominee(s) may participate in this process. Students shall be part of this process also. To be eligible, a nominee must be in at least the seventh year of full-time teaching at the University of Cincinnati as a (non-administrative) faculty member.

The candidate should be involved in any way he or she deems necessary, such as selecting the college or departmental Committee when used, supplying an updated vita, a list of students with whom the candidate has interacted, and course evaluations in the candidate's possession.

A nominee may be a candidate for only one award. If a person is nominated for both, he/she must choose which award for which he/she wishes to be considered.

Dossier Format

The dossiers should consist of the following documentation in the order indicated:

1. the departmental and/or college cover letter
   
2. the student/alumnus(a) nominating letter(s)/form(s)
   
3. In addition to items 1 and 2, no more than 25 numbered pages containing:
   
   • a 1- to 3-page reflection, written by the nominee, that describes and illustrates the nominee's excellence in teaching (this could include the nominee's philosophy of teaching)
   • an abbreviated personal vita, stating past and current faculty status not to exceed 3 pages
     
   • a list (not necessarily complete) of courses taught at UC.
   • a summary of numerical and/or written class evaluations (required for the Cohen Award; optional for the Barbour Award)
   • quotations (not paraphrases) from student letters/comments with examples of at least 3 and not more than 5 complete letters
     
   • quotations (not paraphrases) from peer letters/comments with examples of at least 3 and not more than 5 complete letters
     
   • any additional evidence felt important, e.g. involvement with students outside of class or with student groups, publications related to teaching, teaching artifacts (an original syllabus, innovative assignments, etc.)
     
4. An Appendix
   

All documents from which quotations are taken must be included in their entirety as the appendix. The appendix does not count in the 25-page limit on the dossier. Since the dossier itself is the primary basis for the evaluation of a nominee's qualifications, the appendix serves only as a supplement. The committee strongly suggests that nominees avoid the temptation to inflate the dossier by placing either redundant or extraneous materials in the appendix. There is no necessary relationship between the size of the appendix and winning an award. Copies of books and offprints of articles should be not included in the dossier. The evaluation Committee is under no obligation to consider appended materials.

Please Note

1. The candidate should be very clear about the differing criteria for each award and make certain that the folder adequately states and reflects the award for which it is submitted.
   
2. The dossier must be in a 1" loose leaf binder.
   
3. The 25 pages referred to in #3 must be numbered.
   
4. Dates should be included on letters whenever possible.
   
5. Evaluations from students and peers outside the nominee's area are useful.
   
6. The criteria and dossier format are firm.

Dossier Submission

The dossiers should be sent by the department directly to the Barbour-Cohen Committee. The dean should be informed of the departmental action. Dossiers must reach the Barbour-Cohen Committee by noon, Dec. 7, 2012. They should be sent to:

Barbour-Cohen Committee
c/o Ben Hofstetter, President's Office
Mail Location 0063

or hand-delivered to Room 625, University Pavilion. (It is recommended that the dossiers be hand delivered.)
 

Additional Considerations

• By tradition, individuals who have previously won these awards have been considered ineligible to win the same award a second time.
  
• Having won one of the awards does not preclude winning the other award.
  
• Individuals who were nominated in the past, but did not win, may be nominated again, but are encouraged to update their files. Please note: dossider content requirements were updated in 2012, so nominees should consult the dossier content section on this site before submitting a dossier.  (Nominations from previous years are not automatically carried over in the next year without new nominations.)
  
• Confidentiality should be observed at all stages; names of nominees sent to the Barbour-Cohen Committee should not be publicly divulged.
   

Special Note

The dossier must reach the Committee via the President's Office (attention Ben Hofstetter, Room 625, University Pavilion) by noon, Friday, Dec. 7, 2012.
 

Suggested Criteria for the Awards

Although there are no absolute criteria as to what constitutes excellence in teaching, the following list is suggested.

Qualities apt to be exhibited by a Cohen awardee:  

1. Is committed to teaching and regards it as a primary function of the university
   
2. Has successfully taught a variety of courses
   
3. Demonstrates creative approaches to teaching
   
4. Shows respect for diversity of opinions and experiences of students
   
5. Demonstrates sensitivity to individual differences and multicultural needs of students
   
6. Maintains high but attainable standards of performance
   
7. Stimulates independent work by students that leads them to be creative, self-directed learners
   
8. Establishes a classroom atmosphere that fosters self-confidence, a positive self-concept, and mutual respect.
    

Deadlines

Note

The recipient’s selection is subject to a final verification by the Provost confirming the current good standing of the awardee.

Questions

If you have questions concerning the awards or the procedures, please contact:

Susan Sipple
Chair of the Barbour-Cohen Committee 
UC E-mail: sipplesm@ucmail.uc.edu
Phone: 513-936-7127

Nominate a Professor!