Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award
23-Apr-2009

Each year UMUC Asia recognizes select faculty members for their excellence in teaching and their contributions to the UMUC intellectual community. The Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award affords students the opportunity to nominate instructors they feel deserve recognition. Faculty members teaching undergraduate courses in the Asia Division and who are nominated by one or more students are invited to participate in the selection process.*

The Selection Process

Students may nominate deserving instructors by filling out and submitting an online nomination form or by sending a letter or email to the Office of the Associate Dean, which includes the name of the instructor, the course for which he or she is being nominated, and the reason he or she is deserving recognition. The current nomination period runs from January 16th, 2009 to January 15th, 2010. Once the nomination period closes, all nominees who are eligible to participate in the selection process are notified via email that they have been nominated. In order to further participate in the selection process, nominees are required to submit a packet by the stated deadline in support of their nomination. The supporting materials must include: a current CV, a two to three page teaching philosophy, and a one paragraph professional biography. Only the nominees who submit their packets on or before the deadline will continue on to the second stage of the selection process.

In the second stage of the selection process nominees are assigned points for their performance in several categories. For example, participation in the School of Undergraduate Studies (SUS) special programs or initiatives, publications, and participation in professional or academic conferences are counted toward a nominee’s total score. Nominees are also assigned points for their cumulative scores in student course evaluations collected over one academic year. Once each nomination packet has been carefully reviewed and points have been assigned to each category outlined in the rubric, those with the highest scores are chosen to move into the third and final stage of the selection process—review by The Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee includes one or two administrators, one or two previous Drazek Award recipients, and a person from outside the university (for example, an ESO or base librarian). Each committee member is given copies of the nominees’ packages to review one week prior to meeting with the rest of the group to determine which nominees will be awarded the Drazek Award. The committee meets for several hours and discusses each nominee’s packet until a unanimous decision, regarding which nominees will be awarded the Drazek Award, is reached. The committee agrees on a ranked list of the top five nominees. The top two nominees are awarded the Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award; the three runners-up are awarded the Teaching Recognition Award. Successful nominees are those who are committed to UMUC, who are effective and innovative educators, and who maintain a consistent record of teaching excellence and contributions to the UMUC intellectual community.

Please contact the Office of the Associate Dean with any questions, comments, or suggestions you might have regarding the teaching recognition awards.

* Previous Drazek Award recipients are not eligible to participate in the selection process. Faculty members who have been with the university for less than three years are not eligible for the award.