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College of Arts and Letters Awards


Each year, the faculty and staff of the College choose to recognize the extraordinary contributions of their colleagues to the College's research and creativity, teaching, and service missions. Recipients of the following awards represent the best traditions of scholarship, including discovery and the advancement of new knowledge; integration of knowledge across disciplines; engagement with the broader community within the University, the Hampton Roads area, the Commonwealth, and the world; and transformative teaching and learning for traditional and nontraditional students alike.

The College recognizes that each awardee's successes depend upon the inspiration, dedication and sacrifice of many others in the College. For this reason, the following awards celebrate our academic community as much as the distinguished individuals we choose to honor.



2023 Arts and Letters Awards Recipients

Award

Award Recipient

Department

Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award

Jude Klena

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

Robert L. Stern Award for Excellence in Teaching

Amy Milligan

Department of Women's and Gender Studies/Director of Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding

Joel S. Lewis Faculty Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring

Michelle Fowler-Amato

Department of English

Charles O. & Elisabeth S. Burgess Faculty Research and Creativity Award

Tom Allen

Department of Political Science & Geography

Charles O. & Elisabeth S. Burgess Faculty Research and Creativity Award Jennifer Fish Department of Women's and Gender Studies

Sue Doviak Graduate Teaching Award in Liberal Arts

Julie Snell

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

Staff Member of the Year Award

Sarah Glaser

Office of the Dean

Outstanding Service to the College of Arts and Letters Award

Michael Carhart

Department of History

Outstanding Service to the College of Arts and Letters

Mona Danner

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice


About the Awards

Arts and Letters Deans List

The Office of the University Registrar releases student's GPA every semester. View the most recent Arts & Letters Deans List Recipients here.

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards


Old Dominion has recognized graduate teaching assistants who have demonstrated exceptional instructional quality since 1996. Each year, the University selects two outstanding graduate teaching assistants - one for laboratory instruction and one for classroom instruction. The outstanding graduate teaching assistants who are selected are awarded $1,000 and they are recognized at the spring faculty recognition dinner. The College may nominate one student in each category. All of the college nominees receive recognition certificates. Calls for nominations will be sent by the Graduate School and/or the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the spring term.


Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award

Each year, one outstanding tenured faculty member will be recognized by the Office of Academic Affairs for excellence in graduate teaching. Each college may nominate two faculty members. The recipient of this award will receive $2,500 and be recognized at the Annual Faculty Recognition and Awards Ceremony in conjunction with other University -wide awards. Also the recipient's name will be prominently displayed on a plaque in a centralized location.

The Charles O. and Elizabeth C. Burgess Award for Faculty Research and Creativity

The Burgess Award recognizes consistent, high-quality achievement in scholarly or artistic endeavors over a period of years (rather than for a single work). The recipient will have a demonstrably national or international reputation as indicated by recognized experts in the appropriate field. The selection committee will give special consideration to work that results in creative thinking on the nature of assumptions in a given discipline; that represents creative interdisciplinary study; or that creates new forms of visual or performing art. The committee also will give special consideration to those faculty who have been at the University for a significant period of time. No person may receive the award more than once. Calls for nominations will be sent by the Graduate School and/or the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the spring term.


Past Recipients

The Robert L. Stern Award for Excellence in Teaching

Students and faculty are cordially invited to nominate outstanding full-time Arts & Letters faculty for the Robert L. Stern Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The nominee shall submit the following materials as a single pdf file to the Associate Dean by March 21, 2022 to be considered for the award:

  1. A letter of nomination from a current or former student, current faculty member, or department chair, (with a copy of the letter sent to the Associate Dean's Office by Monday, February 28, 2022.)
  2. A letter of support from the nominee's department chair (unless the chair has written the nominating letter). If the nominee is the department chair, the letter of support should be from a colleague holding the rank of Associate or Full Professor.
  3. A second letter of support, preferably from a former student or former or current colleague. There should be no more than 3 letters of support, including the nomination letter.
  4. A personal statement, to include the nominee's teaching accomplishments, goals, and philosophy (for example, innovations in the classroom, special projects, extraordinary student research, web pages, use of instructional technology, etc.) not to exceed three (3) double-spaced pages.
  5. Curriculum vitae.
  6. Student evaluations (quantitative and qualitative), for all courses taught for the previous three (3) academic years of full-time teaching
  7. Course materials, including syllabi and handouts describing class projects or assignments if such descriptions are not included in the syllabi, exams, and grade distributions for all courses taught for the previous three (3) academic years of full-time teaching.
  8. A teaching log listing all the courses taught for the previous three (3) academic years of full-time teaching and the enrollments in each.

It is the nominee's responsibility to submit the requested materials by the deadline. The nominee should not submit materials not requested.


Past Recipients

The Joel S. Lewis Faculty Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring

Students and faculty are cordially invited to nominate outstanding Arts & Letters faculty and faculty administrators for the Joel S. Lewis Faculty Award for Excellence in Student Mentoring.

The Lewis Award is given annually to a full-time faculty member in the College of Arts & Letters who most successfully mentors students as they plan for life after college. The mentoring may include preparing students for future graduate or professional school study, or for employment in a relevant career.

The nominee shall submit the following materials as a single pdf file to the Associate Dean by March 21, 2022 to be considered for the award:

  1. A letter of nomination from a student, faculty member, or department chair (with a copy sent to the Associate Dean's office by Monday, February 28, 2022)
  2. A letter of support from the nominee's department chair or director (unless the chair has written the nominating letter). If the nominee is the department chair, the letter of support should be from a colleague at either the Associate or Full Professor rank. (The Chair may be the senior member of his or her department—this avoids confusion and makes it clear that the letter should come from a tenured or tenure-rank member of the department)
  3. Up to two (2) additional letters of support from current or past students. There should be no more than 4 letters of support, including the nomination letter.
  4. A self-assessment summarizing the nominee's mentoring activities over the past three (3) years, and the impact of the mentoring. The nominee, if possible, should discuss contacts with other schools, agencies and organizations and how students have benefited from these contacts.

It is the nominee's responsibility to submit the requested materials by the deadline. The nominee should not submit materials not requested.


Past Recipients

Outstanding Contribution to Interdisciplinarity Award

The College of Arts and Letters invites nominations for the "Outstanding Contribution to Interdisciplinarity" Award.

The purpose of this award is to recognize someone who has made a sustained contribution to interdisciplinary teaching, curriculum development, programs and / or activities. The individual must be a full-time faculty member in the College of Arts and Letters.

Faculty, chairs or directors may nominate a candidate. The letter of nomination should outline how this person has made contributions to interdisciplinarity in the areas listed above for a sustained period of time. The letter should include, not only the effort put forth by the candidate, but his / her impact to students, programs or the college or the university as a whole.

In addition to the nomination letter, please include the vita of the individual.

Please submit your nomination letters by April 18, 2017 to Deborah Giles, Dean's Office, BAL 9042.


Past Recipients

Doctoral Mentoring Award

This award is no longer offered.


Past Recipients

The Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award

Students and faculty are invited to nominate outstanding Arts & Letters adjunct faculty for the Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award.

The nominee will submit the following materials as a single pdf file to the Associate Dean by March 21, 2022 to be considered for the award:

  1. Letter of nomination from a current or former student, faculty member or department chair (with a copy of the letter sent to the Associate Dean's Office by Monday, February 28, 2022)
  2. A letter of support from the nominee's department chair or director (unless the chair has written the nominating letter)
  3. One additional letter of support. There should be no more than three letters of support, including the nomination letter.
  4. Curriculum vitae.
  5. A teaching log listing all the courses taught during the six most recent full semesters of teaching at ODU.
  6. Teaching evaluations from all courses taught in the previous three years.
  7. Syllabi for all the courses taught and class handouts describing assignments not fully explained in the syllabi.
  8. Personal Statement outlining teaching accomplishments, goals, and philosophy.

It is the nominee's responsibility to submit the requested materials by the deadline. The nominee should not submit materials not requested.


Past Recipients

Staff Member of the Year Award

The College of Arts & Letters is calling for nominations for the Staff Member of the Year Award. Only classified staff members who have served the College for a minimum of two years will be eligible for nomination. The award will be presented at the college's end-of-semester virtual celebration on April 30.

This year, we have attached a listing of all classified staff who are eligible for nomination. Please note classified staff cannot receive this award twice within a five-year period. The year beside names indicates a previous winner and year received.

The purpose of the award is to show appreciation to an employee who has given exceptional service to students, faculty, and/or staff in the College of Arts & Letters. This exceptional service might have improved customer service, avoided complaints, saved money, or created better ways to accomplish difficult tasks. The improvement or outstanding results must be documented. Specific examples are very helpful.

Nominations should be made with the consent of the person being nominated and can be made by faculty, students, other classified staff, or immediate supervisors.

The nominee packet should include:

  • the completed nomination form
  • a short narrative from the nominator
  • a brief job description (the individual's normal duties)
  • supporting documentation from at least one other source (more than one letter can be submitted)
    • Student
    • Faculty member
    • Colleague from other university offices

Nominations for this year's award should be sent to the Dean's Office, BAL 9000 by April 2, 2021. Please use the attached form.

Please take a moment to recognize a classified staff employee for their hard work and commitment to the college. Contact the Dean's Office at 693-3944 with any questions or for more information.


Past Recipients

Outstanding Service to the College of Arts & Letters

The Dean's Award highlights outstanding service to the College of Arts and Letters. Recipients have helped to carry out the mission of the College without regard for recognition or reward. They also embody the principles of collegiality and civility. This award can be given to acknowledge an exceptional accomplishment or to honor someone for constant and steadfast dedication to the College.


Past Recipients


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