Amidst my seemingly endless daily duties, I have let blogging go. I keep promising myself that I will get to it tomorrow, but I don’t. I read faculty proposals; grade student essays; draft my own chapters; submit book awards; lead workshops on Fulbright applications; petition Accounting for an actual check…the list goes on. Today, however, I have returned to the blogosphere. It is my goal to stay, to continue to build a conversation on faculty development and recognition. Keep your fingers crossed I will be back before July!
I often talk with faculty about why awards matter. I am frequently told by faculty members that they didn’t get in to this profession for the awards and I believe that is true. Nonetheless, the National Research Council’s most recent report lists that faculty ranked the “reception by peers of a faculty member’s work, as measured by honors and awards” as the seventh most important characteristic in evaluating the quality of faculty in a program or university. Number of publications, citations, and grants were the top three criteria, but peer recognition through awards was included.
The FSU doctoral programs ranked by the National Research Council with these criteria showed that major gains can be made with few awards. Let me use my area as an example. UNC and University of Iowa are state-funded Research I schools with top-ranked English departments. UNC reports 1.61 awards-per-English faculty member; Iowa reports 1.38. FSU’s English faculty claim .96. With numbers this close, every award makes an impact.
Additionally, peer recognition begins during the awards process, and I remind faculty in our discussion on why awards matter that award competitions are another way to share your work both in-field and across fields. It is not unusual for an award committee member to remember an outstanding nomination that did not win the award and to comment on that work to a colleague or the nominee herself.
Awards matter because faculty created them to matter. They honor the best teaching, research, and service and both the profession and the public understand this connection. When you or your FSU colleague complete work that matters – and you will – contact my office to talk about an award nomination.
