Each regional campus dean will send out a call to their respective faculty for nominations each year in the fall semester.
Regional Higher Education Faculty Awards
The Regional Campus Outstanding Professor Award and the Outstanding Lecturer Awards honor faculty members from the Regional Higher Education campuses for their exceptional contributions to teaching, scholarly activity and service. These awards are a celebration of the dedication and impact made by the recipients on their students and the University community.
Regional Higher Education has recognized outstanding regional campus faculty members since 2003.
Award Schedule
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Call for Nominations
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Candidate Submissions
Each regional campus dean will submit final nominations to the Associate Vice Provost of Regional Higher Education and Partnerships by March 21 each year.
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Award Announcements
The Award Selection Committee will announce awardee(s) before late Spring Semester each year.
Award Guidelines
Outstanding Tenure-Track Professor Award
The Regional Campus Outstanding Professor Award honors faculty at regional campuses who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service over the last three years.
The recipient of the award carries the designation Outstanding Professor, Regional Campuses, for one year and receives a plaque of distinction as well as recognition through external media and internal channels. The awardees are not eligible for nomination for the award again for five years after the previous selection.
Nomination Information
Nominations for the Regional Campus Outstanding Tenure Track Professor Award are generated at each of the regional campuses. Each campus may make any number of nominations per year. The Award Selection Committee, designated by the Executive Dean (Regional Campuses) in consultation with the campus deans, may recommend up to two faculty members for the award annually.
A nominee must be a full-time, RHE Tenure Track faculty member who has served at the nominating campus for a minimum of three years. Additionally, a committee will review nominees while considering specific nomination criteria.
Nomination Criteria
In reviewing nominees, the committee will consider evidence of the following:
- Excellence in teaching effectiveness as acknowledged by peers and students coupled with self-evaluation
- Design and implementation of innovative approaches to teaching including the use of technology across the RHE system and development of new courses or programs, especially modification of courses to incorporate current classroom technologies
- Interdisciplinary teaching including outside the individual’s primary area, including University College classes
- Academic Advising and/or supervision of independent study, laboratory, student organizations, field work, student activities, and programs related to an individual’s academic discipline
- Incorporation of active learning approaches, such as service learning, internships, and collaborative group projects into course work
- Leadership in campus, university, and professional organizations
- Consistent record of quality scholarship in the discipline
- Civic and community activities directly germane to the educational objectives of the regional campus.
Nomination and Selection Process
Each regional campus will conduct a nomination and selection process. The campus dean shall send out a call to their respective faculty for nominations. Nominations shall be submitted to the campus dean who will then appoint a faculty committee made up of at least three tenured faculty to review nominations and make the recommendation for final campus nominees to the dean.
The dean will submit final nominations to the Associate Vice Provost of Regional Higher Education and Partnerships of RHE. Nominees who wish to be considered by the Award Selection Committee must submit a narrative that does not exceed five pages and a curriculum vitae or digital measures report that emphasizes the past three years of accomplishments.
The narrative must observe standard margins of one inch with double spacing. Materials for the campus nominees, along with a letter of recommendation from the Campus Nominating Committee, must be sent by the campus Dean and received by the Office of Regional Higher Education by March 21 of each year.
The Award Selection Committee will meet in mid-Spring Semester, and awards will be announced before late Spring Semester and will be presented at an appropriate occasion.
Award Selection Committee
The Award Selection Committee, designated by the Executive Dean (Regional Campuses) in consultation with the campus deans is composed of five regional campus RHE Tenure Track faculty members, with one from each campus. Additionally, one non-voting Tenure Track faculty member from RHE shall be appointed by the RHE Faculty Development Committee.
Committee composition may also be dependent on ensuring faculty diversity and representation across various disciplines. Each committee member will serve a two-year term.
Committee Recommendations
The Award Selection Committee may recommend up to two faculty members for the award annually. However, the committee may choose not to recommend anyone if no nominees meet the award standards.
Outstanding Instructional Faculty Award
The Regional Campus Outstanding Lecturer Award honors faculty at regional campuses who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and have an outstanding record of service to the campus and university, as demonstrated over the last three years.
The recipient of the award carries the designation Outstanding Lecturer, Regional Campuses, for one year and receives a plaque of distinction as well as recognition through external media and internal channels. The awardees are not eligible for nomination for the award again for five years after the previous selection.
Nomination Information
Nominations for the Regional Campus Outstanding Instructional Faculty Award are generated at each of the regional campuses. Each campus may make any number of nominations per year. The Award Selection Committee, designated by the Executive Dean (Regional Campuses) in consultation with the campus deans, may recommend up to two faculty members for the award annually.
A nominee must be an RHE Instructional Faculty member (0.80 – 1.0 FTE) who has served at the nominating campus for a minimum of three years. Additionally, a committee will review nominees while considering specific nomination criteria.
Nomination Criteria
In reviewing nominees, the committee will consider evidence of the following:
- Excellence in teaching effectiveness as acknowledged by peers and students coupled with self-evaluation
- Design and implementation of innovative approaches to teaching including the use of technology across the RHE system and development of new courses or programs, especially modification of courses to incorporate current classroom technologies
- Interdisciplinary teaching including outside the individual’s primary area, including University College classes
- Academic Advising and/or supervision of independent study, laboratory, student organizations, field work, student activities, and programs related to an individual’s academic discipline
- Incorporation of active learning approaches, such as service learning, internships, and collaborative group projects into course work
- Leadership in campus, university, and professional organizations
- Civic and community activities directly germane to the educational objectives
- Consistent record of current professional development/continuing education activities including attendance and/or presenting at discipline-specific conferences.
While the Faculty Handbook clearly states that there is no expectation for research or creative activity for RHE Instructional Faculty, the Award Selection Committee will consider research and creative activity as evidence of professional development. Such optional criteria for outstanding scholarly activity could include publications, research projects and grants, papers or presentations, creative or performance activities related to one’s discipline, conference attendance, works in progress, and submissions under review.
Nomination and Selection Process
Each regional campus will conduct a nomination and selection process. The campus dean shall send out a call to their respective faculty for nominations. Nominations shall be submitted to the campus dean who will then appoint a faculty committee made up of at least three instructional faculty to review nominations and make the recommendation for final campus nominees to the dean.
The dean will submit final nominations to the Associate Vice Provost of Regional Higher Education and Partnerships of RHE. Nominees who wish to be considered by the Award Selection Committee must submit a narrative that does not exceed five pages and a curriculum vitae or digital measures report that emphasizes the past three years of accomplishments. The narrative must observe standard margins of one inch with double spacing. Materials for the campus nominees, along with a letter of recommendation from the Campus Nominating Committee, must be sent by the campus Dean and received by the Office of Regional Higher Education by March 21 of each year.
The Award Selection Committee will meet in mid-Spring Semester, and awards will be announced before late Spring Semester and will be presented at an appropriate occasion.
Award Selection Committee
The Award Selection Committee, designated by the Executive Dean (Regional Campuses) in consultation with the campus deans, is composed of five regional campus RHE Instructional Faculty members, with one elected by each campus. Additionally, one nonvoting Instructional Faculty member from RHE shall be appointed by the RHE Faculty Development Committee.
Committee composition may also be dependent on ensuring faculty diversity and representation across various disciplines. Each committee member will serve a two-year term.
Committee Recommendations
The committee may recommend up to two faculty members for the award annually. However, the committee may choose not to recommend anyone if no nominees meet the award standards.
2025 Outstanding Faculty Award Recipients
Past Award Recipients
Tenure-Track Faculty Awardees
- 2024: Kevin Cordi - Lancaster Campus
- 2024: Jacqueline Yahn - Eastern Campus
- 2023: Gabriella Popa - Zanesville Campus
- 2022: Nicole Blau - Lancaster Campus
- 2022: Pamela June - Eastern Campus
- 2020: Hayley Haugen - Zanesville Campus
- 2019: Matt Wanat - Lancaster Campus
- 2018: Patrick Drumm - Lancaster Campus
- 2017: Lisa Haven - Zanesville Campus
- 2017: Charles Jarrett - Southern Campus
- 2016: Barbara Trube - Chillicothe Campus
- 2015: Tarig Higazi– Zanesville Campus
- 2014: Dev Poling – Zanesville Campus
- 2013: Miki Crawford - Southern Campus
- 2012: Nicole Pennington - Southern Campus
- 2012: Zijian Diao - Eastern Campus
- 2011: Karen Slovak - Zanesville Campus
- 2010: Scott Minar - Lancaster Campus
- 2010: Frank LoShiavo - Zanesville Campus
- 2009: Viet Nguyen - Zanesville Campus
- 2009: Patrick Munhall - Lancaster Campus
- 2007: Sheida Shrivani - Zanesville Campus
- 2007: Mark Waters - Eastern Campus
- 2006: David Lucas - Southern Campus
- 2006: Margaret McAdams - Chillicothe Campus
- 2005: Terrance Quinn - Southern Campus
- 2005: Brian Hoyt - Lancaster Campus
- 2004: Ken Heineman - Lancaster Campus
- 2004: Pramod Kanwar - Zanesville Campus
- 2003: Candice Thomas Maddox - Lancaster Campus
- 2003: Lacey Curtis - Southern Campus
Instructional Faculty Awardees
- 2024: Victor Jones - Lancaster Campus
- 2023: Teri Peasley - Zanesville Campus
- 2023: Tracy A. Pritchard - Eastern Campus
- 2022: Debra Nickles - Chillicothe Campus
- 2022: Debra Dunning - Lancaster Campus
- 2019: Pam Kaylor - Lancaster Campus
- 2017: Kelly Hall - Southern Campus
- 2015: Thomas Suter - Southern Campus
Outstanding Instructional Faculty Award recipients are noted as awarded. If an award recipient is not identified or selected, that year will not be included in the listing. The Regional Higher Education Outstanding Lecturer was first awarded in 2015.
Proposed by the Group II OL Award Development Committee January 15, 2014
Approved by the Regional Deans, January 23, 2015