ESA-NCB Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching

This award is presented to honor an NCB-ESA member for excellence through innovations in teaching.    

The recipient will receive plaque acknowledging their achievements.  Winner will also be our branch nominee for the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching offered by the Entomological Society of America.

Eligibility

The nominee must be a current NCB-ESA member, and must have excelled through innovations in developing   new courses, programs, and teaching methods.

NOTE:  An individual can only be nominated through one ESA branch in a given year.

Electronic Submission Requirements

All nomination packages must be submitted electronically according to the following specifications (paper nominations will not be accepted):

Page Limits

  • The entire nomination package must not exceed 20 pages total. This includes letters of nomination or recommendation and publication lists.
  • Letters of nomination and recommendation must be included in the electronic package. Printed letters sent in lieu of electronic versions will not be accepted.

File Specifications

  • Only the following file formats will be accepted: PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format), RTF (Rich Text Format), TIF graphic files, or JPG graphic files. Files created on either PC or MAC platforms will be accepted. Please make sure scanned images can be clearly read on a computer screen.
  • Font size for text may not be smaller than 10 point.
  • A nomination package may contain no more than 6 separate files, and the size of each file must not exceed 3 MB.

Submission Methods

Nomination packages must be submitted directly to the chair of the NCB-ESA Professional Awards Committee.

Nomination Requirements

Nomination packages for this award must include:

CV-Related Items

Nominators must provide the information called for in the CV template, either in the template's format or in their own format. To view the CV-related nomination requirements for this award, as well as the CV template, please click here.

Other Items

  1. Letter of nomination containing a brief explanation of how the nominee excelled in performance of teaching-related duties
  2. Up to three letters of endorsement from professional colleagues, former students, or current students (not more than two from each)

Evaluation Criteria

Nominees/candidates will be judged using the following criteria for a total of 100 points:

  1. Classroom Instructions(30 points total)
    1. Amount/number of courses and/or students (10)
    2. Effectiveness, innovation, and effort of methods (10)
    3. Effectiveness, innovation, and effort of materials (10)
  2. Other Aspects of Teaching(40 points total)
    1. Development of new courses or curricula (4)
    2. Grants received for teaching (2)
    3. Publications related to teaching (2)
    4. Talks related to teaching (2)
    5. Participation in committees related to teaching (2)
    6. Advising students and student organizations (20)
    7. Evaluation by students and peers (8)
  3. Outreach and Other Activities(30 points total)
    1. Presentations or activities for K-12 and/or general public (10)
    2. Workshops or short courses for professional audience (10)
    3. Other professional activities, such as research, extension, consulting, or service (10)

Deadline

Nomination packages must be received by the chair of the NCB-ESA Professional Awards Committee by April 1st. This deadline refers to receipt by the awards administrator of a complete package in a readable format. Therefore, early submission is highly recommended. The awards administrator will confirm receipt of nomination packages within two business days, and also notify nominators of any problems with nomination package files within that time.

Renomination

 

Renominations are encouraged.  Any candidate nominated, but not selected, for the award at the branch level, may be renominated for the branch award up to two times within the two-year period (following the eligibility criteria) after his/her initial submission.  The winner of each branch award will compete with winners from other branches for the society-level ESA or Entomological Foundation awards (society-level awards were formerly known as national awards).   If the NCB branch winner does not win the society-level award, he or she is again eligible for nomination for the branch award after three years.  Thus, a candidate may win the branch  award more than once.  Previous winners of society-level awards  are not eligible for renomination at the branch level. Nomination packages will be retained for two years by the chair of the NCB-ESA Professional Awards Committee.  Nominators must send a letter of renomination to the chair of the NCB-ESA Professional Awards Committee by the nomination deadline above. Previously submitted documentation will be used for the evaluation process unless the nominator submits new or updated documents. The renomination e-mail must contain any updated documents. New or updated documents must follow the electronic submission requirements noted above.

Notification

The awards administrator will notify all candidates and their nominators with the results of their nomination approximately two months after the nomination submission deadline. 

For more information about this award, please contact the chair of the NCB-ESA Professional Awards Committee.