On May 11, 2007, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Interim Faculty Senate developed the constitution and bylaws of the Faculty Senate. The voting faculty within the TTUHSC would later ratify these documents. During this process, the TTUHSC President’s Faculty Awards were discussed, and it was decided that the senate should approach the president about the possibility of being involved in revamping the selection criteria, required documentation and the decision-making processes.  The president asked the senate to be involved in the Faculty Awards criteria and timing and so this evolution began. 

These awards were developed to celebrate the many leaders within the TTUHSC faculty community. These awards eventually developed into the following awards which are now presented each year.

• The President’s Excellence in Teaching award is presented to faculty who demonstrate sustained excellence and expertise in teaching. Criteria looks at their originality and innovation, as well as their philosophy and pedagogies. Student satisfaction, mentoring, scholarly achievement and commitment to TTUHSC through additional duties also are reviewed.
• The President’s Excellence in Team Teaching award focuses on faculty with several years of sustained excellence in team teaching as demonstrated by their experience, philosophy, use of innovative pedagogies, student engagement, student satisfaction, mentoring of faculty and students, research and scholarly advancement and commitment to TTUHSC through additional duties.
• The President’s Excellence in Interprofessional Collaboration award focuses on faculty who have implemented a collaborative project across TTUHSC schools. These projects demonstrate interprofessional teamwork yielding positive outcomes for participants in education, clinical or research areas.
• The President’s Young Investigator award is presented to faculty who exhibit exceptional potential as an independent investigator and who have achieved substantial recognition for work done at TTUHSC. Criteria focus on the research, originality, innovation, peer recognition and commitment to TTUHSC through additional duties.
• The President’s Outstanding Clinician award is presented to faculty who have demonstrated expertise, professionalism, ethics and compassion for their patients. They also demonstrate extraordinary communication skills, receive positive satisfaction surveys, receive positive supervisor evaluations, utilize innovative therapies, provide patient-centered care, complete scholarly activities and demonstrate a commitment to the TTUHSC through additional duties.
• The President’s Excellence in Research award is presented to faculty with recognized accomplishments in research or scholarship as demonstrated in original, high-impact publications, receipt of external funding, recognized by national or international peers and research awards for work completed at TTUHSC.  Their research displays originality and innovation, as well commitment to TTUHSC through additional duties.
• The President’s Excellence in Community Engagement award is given to faculty who demonstrate a history of exceptional service and devotion to the larger communities such as local, regional, state, national and global. This service includes volunteerism, community service and outreach, which impacts the community success. This recognition is bestowed on those who have unselfishly provided for the community and have been committed to TTUHSC through additional duties.

Faculty award nominations are now open with new, simple and easy steps. This year, the Faculty Senate has updated the nomination process to only include a cover letter and CV. Please submit nominations for your colleagues that provide outstanding work for our university. You can find the updated application instructions and rating rubric on the senate website. The deadline is June 15, 2016.