President's Award for Excellence

City College places a high value on student success and interdisciplinary student learning through the integration of research/scholarship and teaching. Our faculty members are crucial in ensuring the quality of the student experience while the student is in pursuit of his/her degree.

This award recognizes both the creativity and commitment of a faculty member and the impact that he or she has had on student learning through a combination of innovative approaches in mentoring, research, teaching and/or scholarship.

Nature of the Award and Eligibility

The President's Award for Excellence is an annual award granted to an individual faculty member whose creativity and commitment to student learning improves the learning experiences that students have in multiple disciplines at City College. This award recognizes the important relationship between research and the undergraduate and graduate experience and involves joining faculty with student research so that there is a seamless connection between the scholarship and the teaching experience. This award recognizes a faculty member for innovative approaches in mentoring, research, teaching, scholarship and serving as am exemplary model for excellence in scholarship, teaching and student success.

The President's Award for Excellence is intended to annually recognize a faculty member in the College who has demonstrated extraordinary service to students, to scholarship and to the College. To be eligible for the award, the faculty member must have a minimum of five consecutive years of full-time service with City College.

Recognition Associated with the Award

The President will announce the recipient of the President's Award for Excellence through a personal letter and a memo to the entire City College community.
Each spring, the President will host a Faculty Recognition reception and invite all faculty members to attend. The award recipient will be honored at this annual Faculty Recognition reception by the President and will receive an honorarium, minus taxes and mandatory deductions, and a Certificate of Recognition.  A special communication from “The Desk of the President” will be published recognizing the faculty member. The President will also recognize the faculty member(s) receiving this annual award for Excellence during the Commencement Ceremony in May or June of each year.

Award Criteria

The focus of this award is on excellence in scholarship in combination with outstanding contributions to student success. Nominees will be judged on:

• Sustained and uncommon commitment to scholarly or creative work;
• Outstanding dedication to student success through the integration of scholarship and distinguished and innovative undergraduate and graduate teaching;
• Significant and current contribution to a discipline;
• Commitment to student learning through effective, inspiring and distinguished teaching;
• Involvement for learning opportunities with students outside of the classroom;
• Demonstrated leadership within department, division or school in support of teaching and student growth;
• Demonstrated excellence beyond the formal role of teacher in advising or mentoring individual students or student groups; and
• Demonstrated outstanding commitment to enhancing a culture of inclusive excellence in a department, a school/division and /or the College.

Nomination Procedures

Each year, the President will send a memo to the Provost, to each dean and to all faculty, staff and students, inviting nominations for the President's Award for Excellence.  Any member of the faculty, administration or student body can nominate a full-time faculty member who reflects and embodies excellence in scholarship, teaching and student success for this award by submitting a letter of nomination to Provost@ccny.cuny.edu by April 21st. The letter of nomination should focus specifically on the faculty member's dedication and commitment to student success through the teaching and scholarship as described in the criteria listed above. A maximum of three letters of recommendation, including from the Department Chairperson and/or Dean, are necessary to be considered for this award.  Please see nomination procedures here.

Award Review Process

The Office of the President will be responsible for establishing the President's Committee on Faculty Recognition. This Committee will be composed of three (3) members of the tenured faculty, 2 students and 2 staff administrators, one of whom will chair the Committee. The President will ask the Faculty Senate to recommend five faculty members to serve on the Committee and select three members from this list. The President will ask the Office of Student Affairs to nominate five (5) students to serve on the Committee and select two members from this list. Any member of the award committee who becomes a nominee (or a significant other of a nominee) must remove themselves from the award committee.  The Committee will be responsible for reviewing the nominations and for presenting the President with a list of up to five faculty members who fit the criteria for receiving this award.  The President will make the final decision of the award recipient. The recipient will be announced at the Annual Faculty Recognition reception held in May.