Kevin Greer
Outstanding University of Miami professors are recognized annually by the faculty senate in the areas of service, research and teaching, and students play a large part in weighing in on the latter category, says faculty senate chair Linda Neider.
The “Outstanding Teaching Award” recognizes outstanding teaching by a faculty member with a substantial record of teaching at the university. And the majority of nominations for that award comes from students, Neider said.
“We would love to have students make nominations,” Neider said. “We look for nominations from anyone in our community… It’s not just for the faculty.”
The other two faculty award categories are the “James W. McLamore Outstanding Service Award,” which recognizes service above and beyond the call of duty by a member of the university community; and the “Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award,” which recognizes either a single outstanding scholarly achievement or a lifetime of distinguished accomplishment in any area of research or creative activity.
The scholar award, Neider said, represents recognition from the faculty community.
“It’s one of the most distinctive awards because it’s from a group of their peers,” Neider said. “Out of all the researchers you are chosen as the one we look up to as a role model.”
The faculty senate is accepting nominations for each award category through Oct. 21.
“Although the pandemic has created numerous challenges, exemplary achievements in scholarship, teaching, and service have continued to be made, and should be recognized,” Neider said. The awards ceremony will be held virtually on April 12, Neider said.
Information on the nomination process is on the faculty senate website.
Here are the current winners of the Faculty Senate Awards:
“James W. McLamore Outstanding Service Award”: Professor R. Stephen Cantrell, professor and chair of the department of mathematics, director of the Institute of the Mathematical Sciences of the Americas, and director of the Institute for Theoretical and Mathematical Ecology.
