The Presidential Professorships were established to recognize those faculty members who excel in all of their professional activities and who relate those activities to the students they teach and mentor. The number of Professorships awarded annually is based on current availability of funds.
The Professorship is awarded for a four-year term. Assistant and Associate Professors receive $5,000 per year and Professors receive $10,000 per year. Presidential Professors will receive the professorship funding as a taxable bonus paid annually. Recipients retain the Presidential Professor title permanently.
Nominations are due to the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost by November 1, 2024, through the Faculty Awards and Honors Packets Dropbox.
Eligibility
Nominees must be full-time, regular or non-regular faculty members. The faculty member must have been an OU employee during the period for which the outstanding contributions are being recognized; previous accomplishments at other institutions, if applicable, may be used in support of a continued outstanding performance in the area of the specific award. The nominee must have excelled in at least two of the three areas below. Recipients of the David L. Boren Professorship, David Ross Boyd Professorship, George Lynn Cross Research Professorship, and the Regents’ Professorship are not eligible for a Presidential Professorship.
i. Teaching
The nominee shall have demonstrated leadership in modernizing and improving the undergraduate/graduate/professional/clinical instructional enterprise, including (i) the effectiveness of undergraduate (lower and upper division) and/or graduate, and/or professional courses developed and taught by the nominee, and (ii) the extent of the nominee's involvement with undergraduate/graduate/professional students and/or clinical residents and fellows in research/mentoring/advising within the academic discipline. In addition, the nominee must have actively participated in student-centered activities such as, but not limited to, OU's Undergraduate/Graduate Research Day, Stewart Wolf Day, REU and/or FYRE programs, freshmen Gateway courses, professional clerkships, mentorship of honors student theses, and sponsorship of academic clubs.
ii. Research and Creative/Scholarly Activity
The nominee shall have demonstrated significant involvement of graduate/ undergraduate/professional students and/or clinical residents and fellows in the nominee's research and creative scholarly activities. This should be supported by measurable peer-reviewed outcomes including the quality and quantity of theses and dissertations supervised, professional degrees/certifications issued publications co-authored with students, and performances/exhibits that involve significant student participation. For the Health Sciences Center, attention will be given to the ways in which a nominee may have an impact through team science and interdisciplinary/interprofessional scholarship.
iii. University/Professional Service and Public Outreach
The nominee must have contributed significantly to, and positively impacted, departmental/college/center/university committees and/or public outreach programs. A faculty member's contributions to the general community include professional service that may be specific to a discipline (e.g., clinical practice and excellence in outcomes such as quality and patient experience, service as a journal editor, conference organizer, or in leadership positions in professional organizations), as well as impactful activities that benefit university-community interactions (e.g., teacher training and service learning projects). Such activities enhance achievements in teaching and research. Successful nominees shall have demonstrated exceptional performance in activities that enhance the university's role and standing in the community.
Initiation
The President in conjunction with the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Norman Campus and the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center will:
The solicitations will be posted on the appropriate campus website, for access by nominators and faculty on all campuses.
Recommendations
Nominations may derive from department chairs or unit directors, elected members of departmental/unit Committee A, a department's/unit's approved nomination committee, Center leaders, or a group of faculty who are familiar with the nominee's qualifications for the award. The nominating entity will be responsible for assembling the nomination packets, including supporting documentation.
Nominations will be forwarded to the respective dean of the college for review and endorsement. An optional letter from the dean, if included, will focus on evaluatory comments regarding the quality and significance of the nominee's impact on the broader OU mission. The dean's letter will not count toward the page limit below. The dean will submit all the recommendations and supporting documentation to the respective Senior Vice President and Provost by November 1.
Supporting Documentation
Nomination materials must include the following, not to exceed 25 pages combined:
In addition, the following must be included but will not count toward the 25-page limit:
The following sequence should be followed. Begin page numbering with the letter of nomination:
Any other supporting materials submitted will be removed from the dossier.
Submission
All materials listed above should be submitted as a single combined PDF from the appropriate Dean's Office to the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost via the Faculty Awards and Honors Packets Dropbox.
Separate selection committees will be constituted on the Norman and Health Sciences Center campuses.
The Presidential Professorship selection committees on both campuses shall consider only the formal nominations. The committees may seek additional data about the nominees from supplemental sources, as appropriate.
The committees’ selections for the Presidential Professors must be forwarded by February 1 to the President along with all nominations and all substantiating materials pertaining to all nominees. The President will make recommendations to the Board of Regents.
The final selection of the recipients will be made by the Board of Regents.
The final selections will be announced for Norman Campus at the annual Faculty Awards and Honors ceremony and for the Health Sciences Center at the Spring General Faculty Meeting.
The Professorship is awarded for a four-year term. Assistant and Associate Professors receive $5,000 per year and Professors receive $10,000 per year. To be eligible for funding in any given year, a faculty member must be considered as a full-time continuing member of the University.
Decisions regarding merit increases in base faculty salary in the academic year will be made independently of faculty status as a Presidential Professor.
Presidential Professors will receive the professorship funding as a taxable bonus paid annually.
The Professorship is granted for a four-year term with the faculty member receiving the funding each year based on faculty rank. Recipients retain the Presidential Professor title permanently.
This award is hosted by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost. For questions about this award, please contact the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost (facultyawards@ou.edu).
