Policy on University Teaching Awards

Introduction

At its September 1993 meeting, the Board of Governors adopted a report on Tenure and Teaching in the University of North Carolina. The report, prepared jointly by the Board's Committee on University Personnel and Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs, reaffirmed the Board's insistence that teaching is the primary responsibility of each of the 17 constituent institutions of the University. To underscore the importance of teaching and to encourage, identify, recognize, reward, and support good teaching within the University, the Board adopted a set of six specific recommendations, including the following:

“That the Board of Governors create annual systemwide teaching awards with monetary stipends which are designated "Board of Governors Awards for Excellence in Teaching.”

I. Annual Awards for Teaching Excellence

A. The Board of Governors will allocate $352,000 each year for the Awards for Teaching Excellence with approximately one half of the fund ($217,500) to be used each year for a System-wide awards program and the other half ($134,500) to be used for allocations to campuses for teaching awards.

B. Each year the chair of the Board of Governors will appoint a special committee, or designate a standing committee such as the Committee on University Personnel, to provide coordination and oversight for the teaching awards programs.

C. The program of awards will be evaluated and revised periodically.

II. System-Wide Awards

A. Number of Awards. There shall be a total of 17 Board of Governors Awards annually. One recipient shall be nominated from each of the 17 constituent institutions.

B. Nature of Awards and Recognition. Each recipient of a Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching will receive a citation and a one-time award of $12,500. Presentation of the awards will be made at an appropriate event to be attended by recipients and their guests, members of the Board of Governors, the president and senior vice presidents of the University, the chancellors or their designees, and other guests.

C. Eligibility for Selection. Any faculty member who has earned tenure[1] at the institution and has taught at the institution for at least seven years is eligible. The recipient must have demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability over a sustained period of time. Potential nominees must be teaching in the academic year in which they are selected.

No faculty member will be eligible to receive this award more than once while teaching at any UNC institution.

III. Institutional Teaching Awards

A. A total of $134,500 will be allocated each year to the 17 constituent institutions to establish additional faculty awards for teaching excellence.

B. Each institution should develop procedures for establishing awards and selecting recipients supported by the Board’s allocation.

C. In establishing these awards, the Board gave special emphasis to the smaller institutions with more limited resources and to those institutions which did not have teaching awards.

In keeping with this objective the following eight institutions are allocated $9,500 each: Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina at Asheville, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, University of North Carolina School of the Arts,[2] Winston-Salem State University, and North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, with the other nine constituent institutions being allocated $6,500 each for teaching awards.

IV. Guidelines for Implementing the Awards for Teaching Excellence. The president will issue guidelines for the nomination and selection of System-wide teaching awards and the allocation of funds for institutional teaching awards.

V. Other Matters

A. Effective Date. The requirements of this policy shall be effective on the date of adoption of this policy by the Board of Governors.

A. Relation to State Laws. The foregoing policies as adopted by the Board of Governors are meant to supplement, and do not purport to supplant or modify, those statutory enactments which may govern the activities of public officials.

B. Regulations and Guidelines. These policies shall be implemented and applied in accordance with such regulations and guidelines as may be adopted from time to time by the president.

[1]At the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a faculty member with a multi-year contract who has taught at the institution for at least seven years is eligible.

[2]Name changed from North Carolina School of the Arts to University of North Carolina School of the Arts effective
August 1, 2008.