This application is now closed. Please check back in Spring 2024 for information and the online application link.

Qualifications for membership

• Evidence of teaching excellence at Texas Tech
• Evidence of promoting teaching improvement at Texas Tech
• Must be nominated by a current Teaching Academy member and recommended by a second Teaching Academy member
• Must be a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty, full-time professor of practice, or full-time lecturer who has been at Texas Tech for a minimum of three years (completed six long semesters)

Application Procedure

• Applicants must have letters of recommendation from the nominator and one other current member of the Teaching Academy (Note: Teaching Academy members may support only one candidate per year)
• Nominations are solicited from and made by Teaching Academy members only, not by academic units. Colleges and departments should not pre-screen nominations
• Nominees will be evaluated by a committee elected from the full membership of the Teaching Academy. Selection will be based solely on the merit of the applicant, not on the number of potential memberships available
• Applications that do not conform to the criteria set forth in the Application Guide will not be considered by the Selection Committee

New Member Selection Criteria

• Teaching Academy Nomination and Recommendation letters (10%):  Applicants must have letters of recommendation from the nominator and one other current member of the Teaching Academy (Note: Teaching Academy members may support only one candidate per year)
• Strength of Teaching Philosophy (15%) – How does the candidate's philosophy guide her or his teaching?
• Evidence the applicant advocates for teaching excellence (15%) What has the candidate done to speak for or represent a positive message about teaching?  Examples of evidence may include:
  • Participation in university teaching projects (Open Teaching Concept)
  • Participation in multi-institutional teaching projects (Transparency Project)
  • Membership in teacher-focused organization
  • Participation in teaching related forums (on and off campus)
  • Applying for/received teaching award
  • Attending TLPDC presentations
  • Attending conferences related to teaching (Burns Conference, Advancing Teaching and Learning Conference)
• Evidence the applicant promotes service related to the teaching mission (15%): Examples of evidence may include:
  • Peer reviews for faculty
  • Service to teaching related communities
  • Reviewer for teaching related conference/journal
  • Judges/evaluates participants of teaching programs (TEACH Program presentations)
• Evidence the applicant shares knowledge about teaching strategies and their implementation (15%): Describe the nominee's current service and other activities (within the past 5 years) related to advocacy for teaching excellence beyond the classroom.  Examples of evidence may include:
  • Presented a workshop about teaching
  • Published an article about teaching
  • Written an opinion article
  • Mentored a novice faculty in teaching
  • TeMPO participant
  • Presented a TLPDC workshop
  • Mentored graduate students
  • Led graduate student development presentations
• Evidence of Teaching Excellence (15%): Examples of evidence may include:
  
  • Peer observations
  • Creative assignments
  • Sample syllabus or an excerpt from a sample syllabus
  • Descriptions of innovative techniques
  • Course/curriculum development
  • Experiential learning (Service Learning)
  • Recognition received for teaching excellence/awards received
• Evidence of teaching excellence from students (15%):  Examples of evidence may include:
  • Course/section number and name
  • Designation as undergraduate or graduate level enrollment
  • Responses from student evaluations for each course/section
  • Evaluation response rate (including the number of students responding, total number of students in the class, and response percentage)
  • Departmental and college comparisons.
  • (Please do not include raw data. You may also include up to three letters from former students.) 

Selection Committee

• Applications will be pre-screened by the Chair of the Executive Council of the Teaching Academy and the Chair of the Selection Committee to ensure they conform with requirements
• Applications that conform with application criteria will be made available for review by Selection Committee members prior to the committee meeting
• The Selection Committee will consider the supplied information with special attention paid to evidence of sustained teaching excellence at Texas Tech University. All applicants will be judged by the same criteria
• Decisions by the Selection Committee are final
• Each year the selection committee will review the process and make recommendations for refining the selection process

2023-2024 Committee Members
Joel Velasco (Chair)
Stephanie Lockwood
Matt Heart
Jon McNaughtan
Michael Giesselman
Sarai Brinker
Julie Chang
Robert Peaslee
BIll Gelber
Karen Spears
Lisa Low

If you have any questions about this process, please contact the committee chair, Joel Velasco. For questions about the online application, please contact Kerri Pike.