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Educational Leadership Award

Purpose

The University of Windsor’s Educational Leadership Award honours the contributions of individuals who have led significant and sustained initiatives to improve teaching, curriculum, teaching spaces and resources, and policies and procedures that promote effective teaching. Each of these areas of leadership is likely to involve the establishment and fostering of strong collaborative networks among educators and educational leaders, at the University of Windsor and beyond.   

Leadership takes many forms.  Evidence of concrete contributions to teaching that have led to improved learning and student success, and of the guidance and coordination of successful (and often collaborative) initiatives will form the basis for evaluation.  Recipients of this award, for example, will have evidence of several of the following achievements:

  • made direct contributions to improving the quality of education our students experience, beyond the context of their own classrooms;
  • developed new and effective curricula, programs, or courses;
  • successfully established institutional infrastructure to facilitate effective teaching and learning and its implementation (e.g., new technologies, new learning spaces, etc.);
  • engaged in or led collaborative efforts leading to innovation in teaching approaches, pedagogical materials development, and assessment of student learning;
  • inspired teaching improvement in others (including other faculty members, administrators, graduate students, and teaching assistants) through collegial support, mentorship, professional development leadership, teaching resource development, and other systematic efforts;
  • actively sought to improve teaching and learning networks and to expand collaborations within and across institutional units, either academic or administrative;
  • organized or played another leadership role in workshops, symposia, courses, or conferences on university education;
  • led or made major and identifiable contributions to the creation or improvement of institutional policies related to teaching and learning (e.g., teaching evaluation, promotion and tenure guidelines, academic advising, accessibility, and inclusion);
  • functioned in systematic ways as advocates for the value of teaching and learning in post-secondary contexts;
  • engaged in community outreach activities that involve teaching (e.g., leading international educational support initiatives, undertaking media advocacy for the value of teaching and learning in universities or at the University of Windsor);
  • led or made major contributions to inter-institutional initiatives related to teaching and learning or to learning environments;
  • contributed to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) beyond the University of Windsor;
  • served in leadership roles on regional, national or international organizations dedicated to teaching of a disciplinary or general focus.

Eligibility

  1. The award is open to those who have worked at the University for at least five years, and who have been employed within 12 months of the nomination deadline.
  2. Faculty members (including learning specialists and sessional instructors) and department heads are eligible for nomination.
  3. Academic administrators, such as Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Vice-Provosts, Deans and Associate Deans are not eligible. Faculty members who have not been administrators for at least one year are eligible for nomination. 
  4. Re-nominations of previously unsuccessful nominees are welcomed and encouraged.
  5. Individuals who have received other teaching awards are eligible.
  6. Previous recipients of this award are not eligible to receive it a second time. 

Criteria

  1. Clarity and relevance of descriptions of leadership activities, including the significance of the nominee’s role;
  2. Impact on teaching and learning (this will include evidence, and may address change of culture, new innovation, advocacy, successful outcomes, etc.);
  3. Breadth of impact (e.g., at the nominee’s discipline, faculty, provincially, nationally, and internationally); and
  4. Sustained educational leadership over time.

Nomination Procedures

  • Candidates may be nominated (or co-nominated) by faculty colleagues or academic administrators. Self-nominations are not accepted. Please ensure that any candidate is aware and agrees to their nomination.
  • The complete submission should not exceed 30 pages. Ensure all material is strictly relevant to the award, and be aware that linked material may not be considered by the committee.
  • Nomination packages must contain the following:
  1. Nominator’s Letter: A cover letter from the primary nominator(s) outlining the rationale for the nomination, including evidence of the candidate’s major strengths (approximately 2 pages).
  2. Educational Leadership Statement: A 1-2 page statement from the nominee about his/her educational leadership and its connection to improving teaching.
  3. Evidence of Educational Leadership:
  1. Any documentary evidence relevant to the nominee’s work in improving teaching at the department, school, faculty, institution level or beyond.  This may be individual or collaborative work.
  2. A Teaching Dossier: A brief teaching dossier (approximately 5 pages) emphasizing the nominee’s contributions to the enhancement of teaching and learning. This is not to be the standard CV focusing on the nominee’s field of research, but rather a summary of the candidate’s teaching contributions, and any research related to teaching.
  3. Appendices:  Evidence may be included in appendices as relevant.
  1. Letters of Support: A minimum of three additional letters of support from referees detailing the candidate’s active involvement in enhancing teaching, teaching spaces and resources, or the teaching context at the University or beyond (maximum 2 pages per letter). Referees may include:
    1. University of Windsor colleagues and/or administrators
    2. External colleagues, administrators, and/or community members
    3. Students with personal experience of the nominee’s activities

Nomination Timeline/Deadline

  • The Call for Nominations will be issued annually in November.
  • Complete nomination packages must be submitted electronically as one combined file (PDF format) to the Centre for Teaching and Learning at ctl@uwindsor.ca by January 6, 2025.

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee will be made up of the Provost (or delegate), the Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (or delegate); three faculty representatives, including at least one teaching award winner; one undergraduate student representative; and one graduate student. A maximum of two awards will be given annually. The selection committee reserves the right to withhold the award in any year where nominations do not meet criteria or eligibility standards.

Announcement of Award Winners

The award will be presented at the University of Windsor’s Celebration of Teaching Excellence. The Provost’s Office is pleased to offer a commemorative trophy, and a grant of up to $5000 to support the educational leadership projects.