University Teaching Awards
Northwestern University offers three awards to recognize individual faculty members who have consistently demonstrated outstanding performance in classroom teaching, or who have developed significant innovations that have also influenced the methods and teaching effectiveness of other faculty:
- The Charles Deering McCormick Professors of Teaching Excellence
- The Alumnæ of Northwestern Teaching Professors
- The Charles Deering McCormick University Distinguished Lecturers/Clinical Professors
Collectively these awards are known as the University Teaching Awards. Recipients are selected by the University Teaching Awards Committee.
Overview
Each year three McCormick Professorships and two McCormick Distinguished Lecturers/Clinical Professors are awarded. The McCormick Professorships are appointed for three year terms and McCormick Distinguished Lecturers/Clinical Professors for one year terms. Additionally, every three years the Alumnæ Professorship is awarded for a three year term. Thus, at any given time, nine people hold McCormick Professorships, two people hold McCormick Lectureship/Clinical Professorships, and one person holds the Alumnæ of Northwestern Professorship.
The McCormick and Alumnae Professors receive a $7,000 supplementary salary award and a $3,000 professional development fund for each of the three years they hold the Professorship. Their home department will also receive a one-time grant of $3,000 to be used for the purposes of undergraduate education, broadly construed.
The University Lecturer/Clinical Professor will also receive a $7,000 supplementary salary award. Additionally, their home department will receive a one-time grant of $1,000 to be used towards activities that enhance undergraduate education.
Each holder of a McCormick or Alumnæ appointment is designated a Fellow of the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence. See a list of current and past recipients here.
Nomination and Selection Process
Nominations for the 2013 teaching awards are due by Monday, March 18, 2013. Schools should submit their nomination materials as a single PDF file to: teachingawards@northwestern.edu.
Faculty members are nominated for a University Teaching Award by the Deans of the schools or colleges in which they have their principal appointments. The nominations are reviewed by a committee chaired by the Provost and made up of senior faculty members and administrators, along with a student representative. The selection committee submits its recommendations to the President. Appointments are made by the President, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. The appointments are made without regard to the school affiliation of the faculty member.
Contact
The University Teaching Awards are administered by the Office of the Provost. For questions on the process, contact Celina Flowers, Project Coordinator, at c-flowers@northwestern.edu.