The Brandon University Alumni Association has announced it is now excepting applications for their yearly Excellence in Teaching Award. The Excellence in Teaching Award is given out each year to a member of the teaching staff at BU. The award recognizes the recipient’s exemplary education practices and highlights them as a distinguished member of the university’s teaching staff. In order to qualify for the nomination of the Excellence in Teaching Award an individual must be a full-time member of the Brandon University teaching staff and has to have taught full-time for the past three years at the university.
The Brandon University Alumni Association has recommended nominees to have the following criteria. The criteria states that the nominee should have a current and well-rounded understanding of their teaching subject as well as enthusiasm for their subject and the ability to install interest in their students. The nominee must also be accessible to students outside the classroom on a regular basis, such as holding regular office hours, and have a reputation around campus among both students and faculty for exemplary teaching. The individual should also be regularly prepared for their lectures and laboratories and encourage student participation in exercises regularly. Furthermore, the member of the university teaching staff should not only set high standards for their students but also foster their motivation and push them to attain such goals.
There will be a selection committee that will sort through the nominations and bring a recommendation of who should receive the Excellence in Teaching Award to the Brandon University Alumni Association Board of Directors for approval. Both the selected recipient and all other nominators will be informed of the decision by the Brandon University Alumni Association. Following the selected nominee’s acceptance of the award a presentation will take place. The Excellence in Teaching Award will most likely be presented at the Spring Convocation. However, if issues arise then the presentation will take place at another special event decided by the Brandon University Alumni Association Board of Directors. The award recipient will be given a framed certificate and their name will be added to a plaque located on the first floor of Clark Hall on campus.
Nominators don’t necessarily have to be current students as BU, as alumni can also nominate a member of the university’s teaching staff for the award. Nomination papers can either be picked up in person from the Alumni Relations Office, located on the first floor of Clark Hall, or online at www.brandonu.ca/alumni/awards/alumni-award. Nominators are encouraged to provide as much information as possible when filling out the nomination forms. Ideally the nomination package should include not only the nomination form but a brief description of the nominee’s excellence in teaching at the university. Nominators must also include three letters of reference supporting the nomination and any information on past awards the candidate received. Nominators have multiple ways they can submit their nomination packages to the Alumni Relations Office. The nomination package can be submitted electronically by emailing alumni@brandonu.ca or in person/by mail to the Brandon University Alumni Association at 270 18th street Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 6A9. The email or package containing the nomination forms should be marked Confidential Award Information.
The deadline for all nominations for the Excellence in Teaching Award is April 1st, 2018 at 4:30PM. Should you have questions relating to the Excellence in Teaching Award you are encouraged to contact the BU Alumni Relations Office at 1-204-727-9697 or email them at alumni@brandonu.ca.