The Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching both encourages and rewards sustained excellence in teaching at Berkeley through two awards programs (for more information, contact the Office of Educational Development at 642-6392):

The Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA) is a campus honor and cash award presented annually at the Teaching Awards Ceremony in the spring semester. All members of the Academic Senate and non-Senate faculty are eligible. Departments initiate nominations, which must be accompanied by a comprehensive portfolio.

The Educational Initiatives Award (EIA) is an honor and a cash award presented annually to a department, unit, or group of faculty that has created a program or initiative that has had a sustained impact upon undergraduate education and that can serve as a model for others on campus. Recipients of this award are also honored at the annual Teaching Awards Ceremony in spring semester.

The Academic Senate sponsors the following awards for faculty (for more information, contact the Academic Senate office at 642-4226 or acad_sen@uclink.berkeley.edu):

The Faculty Research Lecture Committee nominates two members with distinguished records in research to give public lectures.

The Committee on Faculty Awards nominates for the Clark Kerr Award individuals considered to have made extraordinary and distinguished contributions to higher education. This committee also nominates faculty members for the Berkeley Faculty Service Award and external awards, prizes, and honors.

The campus also offers other award programs:

The Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs, sponsored by the Graduate Council’s Advisory Committee for GSI Affairs and the GSI Teaching and Resource Center, is an annual award presented to a faculty member who has provided outstanding pedagogical mentorship to GSIs. Statements of mentoring philosophy written by recipients can be found on the website above.

The Chancellor’s Faculty Award for Service-Learning recognizes faculty who provide opportunities in their courses for student service in the community.

Some schools, colleges, and departments also offer teaching awards, such as the Noyce Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in the physical sciences, the College of Natural Resources Distinguished Teaching Award, and the College of Letters and Science awards for Distinguished Research Mentoring of Undergraduates and Distinguished Faculty Advising of Undergraduates.

last updated on 3/21/07