The Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowships, a universitywide program recognizing excellence in undergraduate teaching by tenured faculty members, has been expanded to include two new awards for outstanding teaching by junior faculty and non-tenure-track faculty.

Stephen H. Weiss Junior Fellowships will be awarded to two early-career, tenured faculty members, and Stephen H. Weiss Provost’s Teaching Fellowships will recognize two non-tenure-track faculty, including lecturers, professors of the practice or clinical professors and, in exceptional cases, research associates.

Both awards carry a $3,000 annual prize for five years, as long as the recipient holds a teaching appointment at Cornell. In the case of the junior fellow winner, he or she may use the title during the five-year term of the award; for the provost’s teaching fellow, the designation is permanent and can be held with any other academic title.

The Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship, which was established in 1992, recognizes a tenured faculty member who, in addition to a respected scholarly career, has a sustained record of effective, inspiring and distinguished teaching of undergraduate students and of contributions to undergraduate education. Recipients hold the title Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow as long as they hold a professorial appointment at Cornell, and they receive $5,000 a year for five years.

Criteria for all three awards include:

• making distinctive contributions to undergraduate teaching;
• influencing students beyond the formal role as a teacher or instructor; and
• helping students in informal ways.

Members of the faculty, academic staff and students can make nominations, which typically are submitted by department chairs. Students are encouraged to contact the faculty member’s department chair for help in assembling supporting materials.

All nomination submissions must include two letters of support from members of the faculty or academic staff and six letters of support from the nominee’s current or former undergraduate students. Nominations are due to the Office of the Dean of the University Faculty by March 11. The fellows will be announced in January 2017.

More information, including a nomination form, is available on the Dean of the University Faculty website.