Awards and Honors

Jump to:

Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

Awarded for teaching excellence in schools with undergraduate programs, the E.P. Curtis Award recognizes a record of distinguished teaching, typically developed over at least eight years, as well as a demonstrated readiness to help less experienced faculty colleagues or teaching assistants master their craft.

Eligibility

Schools with undergraduate programs should solicit nominees from faculty and students. We assume that it takes a reasonable period of time, probably at least eight years, for a faculty member to develop the record of excellence required for the Edward Peck Curtis Award. This is a distinguished teaching prize and to receive it is a true honor; please nominate your best faculty members. Further, candidates for the Edward Peck Curtis Award should demonstrate their readiness to help less experienced or less successful teachers and teaching assistants master their craft.

Award

The faculty member selected will be honored with a citation at commencement and will receive $10,000.

Top ↑

G. Graydon Curtis ’58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching

Established in honor of Professor Ralph Helmkamp ‘11, Professor of Chemistry, this award recognizes teaching excellence by a non-tenured member of the faculty. To quote the donor: “Recognizing that many tenured faculty members excel in both teaching and research, it is my expectation that this annual award, directed exclusively to the non-tenured faculty, will encourage both interest and excellence in instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels.” The award is intended for faculty on the tenure track who have not yet been tenured.

Eligibility

We expect to review data summarizing teaching evaluations from students and alumni, but we also look for information about the design of new courses and course sequences that improve chances for student learning, evidence of candidates’ interactions with students in non-classroom settings, and testimony from faculty peers about how well students are prepared by the nominee.

Award

The faculty recipient is honored with a citation at commencement and will receive $10,000.

Top ↑

Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Teaching Award

This award commemorates the distinguished careers of University of Rochester faculty members who have provided outstanding guidance and mentorship to doctoral students at the University, and whose students have in turn gone on to make important contributions in scholarship, business, or government. The award is presented at the University doctoral commencement ceremony.

Eligibility

No call for nominations. Dean Kerney and the Provost meet every spring and decide whether they want to award (it is not given every year).

Award

Award presented at University Doctoral Commencement ceremony (May).

Top ↑

William H. Riker University Award for Graduate Teaching

The Riker Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching recognizes a faculty member who has excelled in graduate instruction, particularly in the University's doctoral programs. Presented at the Doctoral Commencement Ceremony each May, this award also carries a monetary award.

Eligibility

Faculty member who has excelled in graduate instruction and advising, especially in UR doctoral programs. Award is intended to recognize all aspects of graduate teaching including individual supervision of doctor students. Classroom instruction, while relevant, should not be the sole basis of a nomination. Nominations from the past are will be reconsidered if they are updated.

Award

The award recipient will be selected by the President, the Provost, and the Vice Provost and University Dean of Graduate Studies. Cash prize $2,000.

Top ↑

Goergen Award For Excellence In Undergraduate Teaching

Sponsored by alumnus, trustee, and former board chairman Robert B. Goergen and his wife, Pamela, the Goergen Award For Excellence In Undergraduate Teaching recognizes the distinctive teaching accomplishments and skills of faculty in Arts, Sciences and Engineering. The award acknowledges the full scope of work contributing to excellence in undergraduate education, and can be given for distinguished teaching in large introductory courses or advanced seminars. In addition to acknowledging superior classroom performance, it can recognize innovation in course design or teaching methods, the creative use of educational technology, the integration of research and teaching, the capacity to elicit superior work from students, or the mentoring of students in independent study projects and senior essays.

Eligibility

The College invites nominations from all sectors of the College: undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff members, and administrators. Nominations should make a case for the nominee’s distinctive achievement in undergraduate teaching. Students wishing to make nominations are encouraged to work with the nominee’s department to assemble the required information. The nomination may include letters of support from faculty colleagues who have substantial knowledge of the nominee’s teaching or innovation in curricular or pedagogical areas; letters from students, teaching assistants, or others who have been influenced by the nominee’s activities; and other supporting documents highlighting excellence, such as SCOQ results, information about grants related to pedagogy or course development, or other teaching awards.

Award

Three recipients are honored each October at the Goergen Awards Luncheon and receive an award of $15,000 each.

Top ↑