General Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences announces the availability of two Beaver Teaching Professorships beginning in August 2008 and continuing through May 2011.  Beaver Professors will serve three-year terms.  Electronic copies of the nominations are due in the Dean’s Office, 320 Old College, on or before November 6, 2008. Submit nominations c/o hruppers@franklin.uga.edu.

An awards selection committee has been elected by the Franklin College Faculty Senate to aid me again in translating to reality the intent of the donors (the Board of Trustees of the Riverside Military Academy, John L. Beaver, Chairman) by assisting in the identification of worthy awardees.  The committee and I will follow the rules and procedures for selection adopted and used in the past.  All eligible tenured members of the faculty of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences who may wish to consider candidacy should therefore read and understand the procedures listed below. Any questions about the awards should be directed to Senior Associate Dean Hugh Ruppersburg (542-1561).

Procedures

1. With the exception of current Sandy Beaver Teaching Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors, all faculty members of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences currently holding tenure approved by the Board of Regents are eligible for candidacy.

2. The term of appointment for each person selected for appointment to a Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship will be three academic years (e.g., those appointed for terms beginning in August 2009will continue to hold the Professorship through May 2012).

3. All previous holders of the Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship must wait six (6) years from the expiration of their last term before they may be considered for another term.  Their case for reappointment shall be based on their work since the expiration of their last term.

4. Each of the successful candidates will (a) receive a yearly supplement of $7850 to his or her annual salary, (b) be eligible for a $560 allotment for professional travel

5. Faculty holding the Beaver Professorship must carry a normal teaching load in their department as determined by the Dean.  Faculty with reduced teaching loads are not eligible for the professorship.  In addition, because Beaver Professors are expected to take a leadership role as advocates for good teaching in their departments and in the College, faculty who take research leave during the term of their professorship must relinquish the position.

We interpret the fulfillment of this teaching requirement through an appropriate assignment of regular classes, laboratories and team-teaching.  Advocacy of teaching might include but not be limited to such activities as participation in teaching seminars and symposia, mentoring of junior faculty or graduate students, peer evaluation, annual teaching of a freshman seminar, and course development. 

6. Should a selectee hold a Special Professorship (e.g., Alumni Foundation, Distinguished Professorship, Research Professorship) or an administrative position, he or she must agree to relinquish such a distinction as a condition of appointment and service as a Sandy Beaver Teaching Professor.

7. Applications for candidacy can be originated by direct submission from tenured faculty members or by nomination by fellow faculty members, including department heads.

8. Each application dossier should be prepared by or with the help of the candidate. The dossier, not to exceed twenty pages, should include a curriculum Vitae of one or two pages, a proposed list of courses to be taught during the three-year term of the Beaver Professorship, a description of how the candidate will serve as a teaching advocate in the department and the College, and such information as the following: 

•  Letters from students, alumni, and/or peers about the applicant's teaching (the inclusion of unsigned letters, including e-mail, is not recommended);
•  A compilation of numerical data taken from the student evaluations of courses taught during the past three years;
•  One or two pages of the ten "best" comments culled from the applicant's student evaluations;
•  Evidence of creativity in the development of new courses and in the preparation of teaching materials, of sustained commitment to working with students on special projects (such as Honors theses), and of external recognition for teaching accomplishments;
•  Listing of published teaching materials or of articles about teaching.

Please note: Pages of the dossier should be numbered consecutively and conspicuously. The page limit guideline shall be strictly enforced.

9. Submit an electronic copy to the Dean’s Office by November 6, 2008 (c/o hruppers@franklin.uga.edu).  

Garnett Stokes
Franklin College Dean