May 29, 1990

Obsolete Policy

Meritorious Performance And Professional Promise Award

I.    Introduction

This document is designed to implement the provisions of Article 31, Sections 31.17-31.25 of the Memorandum of Understanding for Unit Three. The term "faculty" as used in this document means all faculty, including full- and part-time lecturers, participants in early and pre-retirement programs, coaches, and librarians.

II.    Allocation of Awards

When notice has been given by the Chancellor concerning the number of awards to be provided to the campus, the President shall allocate the number of awards to each school or appropriate administrative unit pro rata based on the number of full-time equivalent faculty (FTEF).

III.    Eligibility to Apply for the Award

All faculty members covered by the Memorandum of Understanding for Unit Three are eligible to apply, or be nominated by a member of the University community, for a Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award. A person nominated will be considered only upon filing a formal application.

IV.    Purpose of the Award

A Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award shall be given in recognition of an individual's outstanding performance in the areas of teaching, other professional accomplishments, or service to the University community during the preceding three years. This award is also intended to serve as an incentive for extraordinary professional promise.

V.    Criteria to be Used in Evaluating Applicants

The following criteria shall be used by appropriate faculty review committees and by school deans/directors in evaluating applicants for the Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award. An applicant shall demonstrate satisfactory performance in teaching, creative and scholarly activities, and University service (except for temporary employees), and shall demonstrate a significant contribution to the University in at least one of the following areas of achievement or shall demonstrate potential for future professional accomplishments.

A. Teaching or instructionally related performance as demonstrated by activities such as outstanding professional accomplishments, excellent instruction, significant curricular development, superior program development, development of effective instructional materials, or other indicators.

B. Professional accomplishments as demonstrated by activities such as significant publications, creative work and performances, exhibits, review work, bibliographic projects, research, grant- supported activities, consulting activity of a scholarly character, offices held in professional organizations, panels and workshops organized for professional meetings, participation in professional meetings (delivered papers, addresses, et cetera), or other indicators.

C. Service to the University community as demonstrated by performance such as exceptional leadership in University governance and campus life at the department, school, university, or system levels, or other meritorious service consonant with the University's mission.

VI.    The Application

Any eligible individual may apply for the Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award by forwarding via the dean's/director's office to the chair of the elected school faculty review committee a summary of all pertinent activities during the preceding six semesters in the areas of the established criteria.

If the applicant has been the recipient of this award within the past two years, then primary consideration shall be given to meritorious performance since the last award.

VII.    Time Lines

The President shall establish deadlines for the submission of materials by applicants for submission of recommendations by the school faculty review committee to the dean/director and for concurrence by the dean/director.

VIII.    Faculty Review and Recommendation Procedures

The full-time probationary and tenured faculty of each school, or appropriate administrative unit, shall elect a faculty review committee of not less than three members for the purpose of reviewing applicants for the Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award. Members of the committee shall be full-time, tenured individuals (except for coaches) who receive a majority vote of the ballots cast by members of the represented unit. An applicant for an award shall not be eligible to serve on the school faculty review committee.

The committee, after consideration of applications submitted, shall forward its recommendations to the dean/director within the stipulated deadline. The number of candidates recommended shall not exceed the number of awards allocated by the President to the school or administrative unit.

If the dean/director concurs with the recommendations, the awards shall be implemented as recommended.

If the dean/director disagrees with the recommendations forwarded by the faculty review committee, both the recommendations of the dean/director and those of the committee shall be forwarded to the President.

The President shall transmit both sets of recommendations for review by the Faculty Personnel Policies Council of the Academic Senate which shall forward its recommendations to the President for a final determination. If the President disagrees with the Faculty Personnel Policies Council's recommendation, the President shall state reasons therefore and return the denied application to the originating faculty review committee with the request to forward a substitute recommendation to the dean/director in accordance with the provisions stated above.

If a school or unit committee fails to recommend as many candidates as permitted, the remaining awards shall be allocated to other schools and units on the pro rata basis utilized for the initial allocation of the awards.

In no case shall an award be made without a recommendation from the faculty review committee elected by the school or appropriate administrative unit.

The collective and separate judgment of the faculty and the President shall not be grievable except on procedural grounds.