The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is calling for nominations from faculty and departments for appointment to the Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair, which honors CLAS faculty for excellence and sustained leadership in the education of undergraduates. The appointment is for a five-year, non-renewable term.

Nominations are due to the College by November 5, 2020. The recipient of the Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair will be named in spring 2021, after I have consulted with the College's ad hoc Committee on Named Professorships and Endowed Chairs on the nominations. The criteria for the chair and the materials to be submitted with the nomination are outlined below.  Departments and individuals may nominate members of the faculty for consideration; the College may also initiate nominations.

Criteria for Appointment to the Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair

• the rank of professor with tenure in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences;
• membership on the CLAS faculty for at least 10 years;
• signal contributions to the education of CLAS undergraduates through commitment to and excellence in undergraduate classroom teaching; excellence as a mentor for undergraduates; and leadership in curriculum and/or program development that has improved undergraduate education;
• a substantial record of scholarly or artistic productivity that has informed the individual’s teaching, mentoring, and curriculum development; and
• visibility in Collegiate, University, and/or professional service related to teaching, pedagogy, student development, and/or curriculum development.

Submit nomination materials as two bookmarked pdfs as outlined below to Brenda Gritsch by November 5, 2020.

The nomination must include the following components:

Bookmarked PDF #1:

• a letter to the Dean detailing the contributions that merit this honor,
• the candidate’s personal statement describing their teaching philosophy and practice,
• the candidate’s current APR,
• three to five letters from former students, and
• the names and contact information of six potential evaluators (from faculty on-campus or at other universities) of the candidate’s teaching impact and leadership in curriculum and program development.

Bookmarked PDF #2:

• examples of documents demonstrating the candidate’s approach to teaching (e.g., syllabi, assignments, tests, or other materials),
• summaries of teaching evaluations.

I encourage you to consider nominating a colleague whose contributions in teaching, mentoring, and program development merit the honor of this appointment.