Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities

The award process is coordinated through the Office of the President. Nominators are encouraged to consult with the Office of the President about candidate eligibility prior to preparing a nomination; questions about dossier preparation are welcome at any time.

SUNY Oneonta may submit one nomination to this program annually.

Eligibility

Each award has program-specific eligibility criteria; nonetheless, there are eligibility criteria common to all. Regardless of program, nominees must have completed three academic years of full-time appointment out of the five years just prior to the year of nomination and must be resident on campus when nominated. Individuals serving in part-time, or any qualified academic rank, such as adjunct, clinical, or visiting capacities – irrespective of length of their service or amount of their involvement – are ineligible for these programs.

General restrictions on eligibility

There are also circumstances that preclude nomination regardless of the program. The following are special conditions that limit eligibility and these restrictions apply to all programs:

• Individuals holding Distinguished Faculty Rank: Distinguished Librarian, Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Service Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor – may not be nominated for an Excellence Award in any of the categories;
• Recipients of an Excellence Award may not be nominated for another Excellence Award within a five-year interval;
• Recipients of an Excellence Award may not be re-nominated for an award in the same category;
• Individuals holding qualified academic appointments (as defined in SUNY Board of Trustees policies: individuals holding the title of lecturer or titles of academic rank preceded by the designation “visiting” or other similar designations) may not be nominated;
• The chief campus officer for academic, student, or administrative affairs, or persons serving in these capacities, may not be nominated for an Excellence Award. Other exclusions include the following (but not limited to) as well as other comparable titles: Direct reports to the President or Chancellor, Vice Chancellors and above, Vice Presidents and above, Vice Provosts and above, Senior Counsels and above, and the Deans of the College of Ceramics at Alfred University and the New York State Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, of Human Ecology, of Industrial and Labor Relations, and of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University;
• Individuals should not be nominated in the same season for promotion to Distinguished Faculty rank and an Excellence Award in the same category (e.g., an individual should not be nominated for a Distinguished Teaching Professorship and an Excellence in Teaching award); and
• Posthumous nominations are ineligible.

Eligibility criteria

Academic Background – Candidates must be full-time teaching, tenured or tenure-track faculty for the academic year in which the award is to be given, and regularly carry a full-time teaching load as defined by the campus for full-time teaching. (Note: Please see full discussion of this issue above under “Academic Background” section for the Excellence in Faculty Service award.)

Academic Rank – Candidates may hold any academic rank (as defined in SUNY Board of Trustees policies: individuals holding the title of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor or assistant instructor)

Length of Service – Candidates must have completed at least three academic years in full-time appointment (years do not need to be consecutive) at the nominating campus prior to the year of nominations.

Restrictions – Individuals holding qualified academic appointments (as defined in SUNY Board of Trustees policies: individuals holding the title of lecturer or titles of academic rank preceded by the designation “visiting” or other similar designations) may not be nominated

Local Guidelines: How to Prepare a Nomination

Nominators' Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the nominator(s) to complete and submit all required and allowable support file data. This includes the electronic submission of the following documents to awards@oneonta.edu by 12 p.m. on Friday, January 10, 2025:

• One complete PDF dossier containing all required materials
• One MS Word document of the maximum five-page summary
• One MS Word document of the nominee’s curriculum vitae

SUNY will announce winners in April or May; however, due to timing factors, only award recipients and their campuses will be notified.

Nominator Dossier Preparation

The dossier will contain all required materials in the sequence below, with a table of contents. Incomplete nominations will automatically be disqualified.

1. Table of contents.
2. The one-page abstract, signed by the nominator(s), must highlight the nominee’s most outstanding accomplishments, organized by the specific SUNY selection criteria. Also, it must briefly describe the campus support for the nomination.
3. The Summary Presentation (five-page summary) must speak specifically to each of the criteria for selection in the SUNY guidelines as follows:

   For Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Activity, evidence of sound scholarship (traditionally research and publication in the sciences and humanities) and creative productivity (in fields where scholarship takes the form of artistic production, performance, composition, etc.) can be demonstrated through a variety of avenues, including grants, release time, honors, etc. The selection criteria for this award shall include a reasonable combination of, but not be restricted to, those appearing below.

   For Scholarship, an excellent, sustained record of research publications in peer-reviewed journals, and/or research monographs, and/or research-oriented texts; or a record of presenting at national and/or international conferences, presentation of papers published in conference proceedings and/or digests, patents awarded, grants secured, and citation of work by individuals or groups other than the nominee’s collaborators.

   For Creative Productivity, a record of excellence in creative activity appropriate for the specific field or discipline, such as exhibitions, shows, performances, productions, and stage work; or a record demonstrating evidence of critical reviews, grants, inclusion of works in permanent collections, retrospectives, and other forms of external recognition and acclaim.

   The format of the Summary Presentation (five-page summary) is significant because the document, if approved by the local selection committee, will be forwarded to SUNY System Administration. Formatting requirements include:

   • The heading must indicate the name, rank and college of the nominee and the nominator as follows:

     Name, Rank, SUNY Oneonta, nominated for the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities by Name, Title, SUNY Oneonta.

   • The final paragraph must repeat the nomination and summarize its salient points.
   • Avoid the use of first person.
   • Single-space with at least 11 point font size and set margins to at least 1".
   • Please do not use acronyms or language which will not be understood by external reviewers.
4. The required curriculum vitae or resume must be reasonably detailed, specifying the most recent (with last-modified date) and required data (date of appointment to the SUNY system, highest rank attained and date of appointment to that rank).
5. Recent (ideally within one year) letters providing strong evidence of the effectiveness of scholarship and creative activities and addressing the criteria for this award. These shall be limited to no more than five (5) letters, at least two (2) of which must be from individuals not employed on campus (impartial referees from the nominee’s discipline). Peers should be at the nominee’s rank or higher and should not also be listed as nominators for the dossier.
6. Documentation supporting scholarship and/or creative activities will be used only for the on-campus evaluation. It must contain the following evidence to support the statements in the five-page summary:
   • Documentation of scholarship and/or creative activities with an explanation of its significance, evidence of sound scholarship (traditionally research and publication in the sciences and humanities) and creative productivity (in fields where scholarship takes the form of artistic production, performance, composition, etc.) can be demonstrated through a variety of avenues, including grants, release time, honors, etc. If applicable, include a summary of how students are involved in scholarship and/or creative activities; also if applicable, include a summary of how service activities are related to scholarship and/or creative activities.
   • A complete list of courses taught (not including sections) during the candidate’s career at SUNY Oneonta (if not listed in CV).
   • Syllabi and other materials demonstrating use of contemporary instructional strategies, from the last two years.
   • Summary of Student Course Survey quantitative results and free responses from the last two years, ideally with at least 50% response rate; if possible, include comparisons with department and school/university aggregate data; optionally, include an explanation of the context.

Last updated 9/27/2024

SUNY Guidelines
Rating Sheet

Incomplete nominations will automatically be disqualified.