You can nomination someone for multiple awards, though it’s preferable for you to make one strong nomination for the most appropriate award category. If you are going to nominate someone for multiple award categories, know that each award has specific criteria and so you will need to submit separate nomination packages for each award, complete with their own cover letters and reference letters. Please ensure that the supporting documents and letters address the specific criteria for the award so it is clear which award the nomination is applying for.

Keep in mind that the award Selection Committee may, at its discretion, move a nominee from one award category to another or consider a nominee for multiple awards if the nominee meets the necessary criteria.

Yes, you can. Nominations that were submitted in a given year are automatically entered for consideration the following year. Our office will reach out to previous nominees and nominators to confirm resubmission material. If the original nomination was made more than a year ago, however, you must submit a new nomination package. Nomination packages more than a year old are destroyed.

Technically you can do this, but we discourage you from doing so. These are not general research awards, rather, each award recognizes specific contributions to the community outside of the university through research and other scholarly activity. If you use application materials originally written for other award nominations, the nomination itself might not address the specific criteria of an award and might have less chance for success as a result.

Yes, individual nominees must be a member in good standing of the faculty association. If you are nominating a group, the majority of group members, including the primary researcher or team leader (if there is one), must be members of their local faculty association.

Almost all tenured, tenure track, and core faculty and professional librarians are members of their local faculty association. Retired, adjunct and clinical faculty are usually not members of the local faculty association. The situation for part-time, sessional and associate faculty varies between universities. If you are uncertain, please confirm with the nominee and contact the local faculty association for more information.

The Selection Committee is comprised of people from various academic backgrounds, so any detailed description of the scholarly activity of the nominee should take into account that the committee may not have the necessary knowledge to understand overly technical descriptions. You should also keep in mind that the work of the award recipient will be publicized and thus the nomination material should be written in such a way to help CUFA BC explain the work of the award recipient to a general audience.

Generally, nominees for the Academic of the Year Award should have made their outstanding contribution to the community beyond the academy within three years of the date of nomination.

There are many different pathways to an academic career, there are no hard and fast criteria for what counts as “early in career”. As a guide only, early in career is often defined as being “no more than five years from completion of a doctoral degree or equivalent” or “within three years of the initial appointment as an Assistant Professor.” If you’re in doubt, please reach out to the CUFA BC office at [email protected] to inquire. The Selection Committee will make the final determination if the nominee is early in their career when it considers the application.

Having an extensive publication record alone is not enough to receive an award, though it is important to have a strong publication record for the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award.

The Academic of the Year Award and the Early in Career Award recognize a specific, recent contribution to the community beyond the academy or contributions early in one’s career and thus it is possible for someone to receive one of these awards without an extensive publication record. Research quality and significance are important elements to the nomination, but volume isn’t the only measure of quality and significance.

For the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award, the quality and quantity of research or scholarly activity are important considerations for the Selection Committee. Part of the criterion for this award is that the nominee has made ongoing contributions to the community beyond the academy through their scholarly work.

Whichever award you end up choosing, you should fully explain the nature of the nominee’s research or scholarly activity and how it has affected the community beyond the academy.

A “contribution to the community beyond the academy” means that the nominee’s research or scholarly activity has had an effect outside the academic world. This might mean that the nominee uses their scholarly work to help the public grapple with an important or vexing public policy issue. It might mean the nominee has made a discovery or developed a product that has a significant social or economic effect. It might mean the nominee has done the research in cooperation with and in support of a community project. Any scholarly work that contributes to the world outside of the academy is eligible for consideration. Make the case and the Selection Committee will consider it!

In creating the awards, CUFA BC wanted to highlight the incredible work of research and scholarly activity that’s carried out at BC’s public universities, and recognize that this work directly impacts the life and well-being of British Columbians. Although there is certainly world-class research taking place at BC universities, it is not always immediately apparent how that research affects people outside of the academy and in our communities. The Distinguished Academics Awards focus on one part of the total university enterprise in order to recognize people who use their scholarly work outside the academy, and highlight these achievements to the public.

In creating the awards, CUFA BC believed the public already understands the importance of teaching at BC’s universities and high-profile awards exist to recognized these contributions. We wanted to improve public recognition of and support for university research.

The Distinguished Academics Awards are primarily about research and scholarly activity, but the Selection Committee is also interested in the other aspects of a nominee’s professional life. You are encouraged to include some information about teaching, service, and other aspects of the nominee’s professional life.

Yes. The nomination package will not be considered complete unless the nominee has signed the application form. The Personal Information Protection Act came into force on January 1, 2004 and it requires that all organizations obtain informed consent from individuals for the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information.

Yes. The Distinguished Academics Awards are conditionally offered only to those people who are able to attend the award dinner and ceremony. Before filing a nomination, please make sure that nominee is available on day the award will be presented for both the award dinner. In the rare event that a nominee’s schedule changes and they are no longer able to attend the award dinner and ceremony, please inform the Selection Committee as soon as possible by emailing [email protected].