To honor the University faculty’s excellence in scholarly and creative work, the Outstanding Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity Awards recognize the significant impact this scholarship has on particular fields. The awards are given annually in the following categories:

• Basic and Applied Sciences
• Social Sciences
• Humanities
• Creative and Performing Arts
• Career Achievement

Each academic unit has a designated Unit Committee that officially compiles and transmits the nominations to the University-wide Selection Committee. The University-wide Selection Committee, composed of representatives from each of the academic units, screens the nominations for the final selection. To avoid undue advocacy on the part of the units, it is strongly urged that the Unit Committee chairperson not be nominated for the University-wide Selection Committee.

Nominators or the Unit Committees are responsible for designating the category (I, II, III, IV, V) for which the nominees are to be considered. Each individual unit is responsible for defining scholarship in the nomination letter in terms of their particular academic disciplines. Self-nomination for these awards is not permitted. Nominations to the Unit Committee are due December 18, 2008.

The recipients must have been employed by the University of Louisville for the five preceding years and must show evidence of excellence in scholarship, creative activity, or research. Nomination for the Career Achievement Award (V) requires that the nominee have an academic career of 15 years or greater with the preceding five years of residence at the University of Louisville.

When reviewing the nominees for categories I, II, III, and IV, the University-wide Selection Committee will focus its attention on the candidates’ most recent five years of scholarship and research.

Each recipient will be awarded an academic medallion and a cash award of $1,000 at a ceremony during the spring term. The accomplishments of those nominees not receiving the awards will be acknowledged publicly at appropriate occasions held in their units.

The recipients of the awards should be selected on the basis of exceptional scholarship, creative work and/or research recognized nationally and/or internationally. Unsolicited national/international awards and invitations may identify established reputations of scholarship or creativity.

Each unit committee may submit one nominee for each of the categories (I, II, III, IV, V) to the Office of the President by Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

No person may receive more than one award within a five-year period. After five years, the previous award winner may be re-nominated for work done during the five years preceding the second nomination. Nominations of individuals who don’t receive the award may be updated and resubmitted if the nominator wishes to have the nominee considered for an award during a succeeding year.

It is anticipated that in some years an award will be made in each category. In other years the University-wide Selection Committee may not recommend individuals for an award in a given category if the criteria are unmet.

Preparing the Nomination

The Unit Committee may establish its own guidelines, provided the following are included:

• Nominees must be full-time faculty at the University of Louisville for the five years prior to the current year. Persons meeting these criteria who are or have been on sabbatical or other leaves are eligible for nomination.
• Any full-time University of Louisville faculty member may nominate an individual with the consent of the nominee. The nominator is responsible for designating the appropriate category for which the nominee is to be considered.
• The nomination must include an updated C.V. and articles, books, materials, or other documentation of scholarly/creative works produced. All materials will be returned to the nominee after the completion of the screening except those of the recipients. Recipients’ materials will be held in library archives for one year.
• Letters (no more than six), not including the Dean’s and the nominating committee’s letter, evaluating the quality and impact of the nominee’s work throughout his or her career must be supplied (especially evidence of continuing scholarship during the preceding five years of employment at the University). At least three of these letters must come from outside the University of Louisville.
• The Unit Committee has the assignment of assembling the nominee’s dossier. It must also provide a persuasive nomination letter establishing a case for why that particular unit is putting the candidate forward. In this letter, the Unit Committee has the responsibility of defining scholarship and research in terms of its own particular discipline(s). Delineation of the criteria used to declare the nominee outstanding is required.
• A letter of support from the Dean for the nominee is expected.

NOTE: Nomination materials for each nominee (excluding examples of original/ scholarly work) should be contained in one 1” three-ring binder. The materials may not exceed a Curriculum Vita plus 25 one-sided pages. Nominations will be copied for the Selection Committee, so please do not use plastic sleeves for page covers. The University-wide Selection Committee urges Unit Committees to observe these stipulations.

All additional materials will be put on reserve in the President’s Office.