The Association of Former Students University Level Distinguished Achievement awards honor Texas A&M University faculty and staff members in the areas of teaching, research, student relations, graduate mentoring, extension/outreach/continuing education/professional development, administration, and staff support. Details of each award are described below. Each award consists of a $4,000 gift, a framed certificate, and an engraved watch. These awards are funded by The Association of Former Students. The Office of Faculty Affairs is responsible for issuing the award guidelines and managing the overall awards process.
Our college is conducting a pre-nomination process due Monday, October 23, 2023. Any faculty or staff member of our college can submit nominations and/or self-nominations. There is no limit to the number of nominations that can be submitted from a unit; however, nominators are encouraged to coordinate with departmental awards committees to prevent duplicate nominations of the same nominee. Pre-nominations will be reviewed by the COALS Awards Committee, which will recommend college nominees to the Dean. We will then coordinate with the nominators/departments in preparation of the full nominations and submission to the university.
To submit a nomination or self-nominate (it’s encouraged), please use the pre-nomination form linked in the appropriate category below.
Links to: Past Award Winners | Guidelines
Categories
(Click on a title to expand and show a description and pre-nomination link)
Teaching
This award recognizes, encourages, and rewards superior classroom teachers—the individuals whose command of their respective discipline, teaching methodologies, pervasive caring, communication skills, and commitment to the learning process exemplify the meaning of teacher/mentor in its highest sense. This award is designed to distinguish those teachers who maintain high expectations of their students and ensure academic rigor in their courses. These teachers recognize their responsibilities in motivating and contributing to the overall development of their students as learners and future professionals.
— Online pre-nomination form: Teaching
Graduate Mentoring
This award recognizes, encourages, and rewards superior mentors of graduate students—those faculty or administrators who go well beyond advising by bringing their skills and commitment to a student’s learning and professional development as future teachers, practitioners, researchers, and scholars through mentoring. These mentors build the enthusiasm of others for their profession, help graduate students achieve their goals, and provide opportunities that will introduce students to a community of professionals who can also assist them in their development. Nominees for this award are dedicated to contributing to the overall development of their students as learners and future professionals.
— Online pre-nomination form: Graduate Mentoring
Staff
This award recognizes, rewards, and encourages a staff member who has contributed to the welfare of Texas A&M University through outstanding staff support beyond the expectations of the position. This award is designed to recognize individuals whose normal scope of service has been other than teaching, research, student relations, continuing education/extension/professional development, or administration.
— Online pre-nomination form: Staff
Individual Student Relations
This award recognizes, encourages, and rewards those employees whose professional relationships with students are particularly helpful and inspiring. The recipients of this award should exhibit concern for the welfare and development of students and should have demonstrated a willingness to meet the special needs of students while ensuring that students accept their responsibilities and strive to meet their own potentials. The two recipients of this award go beyond the requirements of their appointments to give time and effort to student growth and service. They offer guidance and encouragement in a spirit of mutual questing and shared expectations.
— Online pre-nomination form: Individual Student Relations
Administration
This award recognizes, rewards, and encourages an administrator who has contributed to the welfare of Texas A&M University through outstanding administrative service beyond the expectation of the position. This award is designed to recognize the individual whose normal scope of service has been outside the areas described in the awards listed previously.
— Online pre-nomination form: Administration
Extension, Outreach, Continuing Education, & Professional Development
This award recognizes, encourages, and rewards a staff member, faculty member, or administrator who has brought credit to Texas A&M University through dedication, enthusiasm, attitude, and effectiveness in accomplishing his or her mission in a particular field of extension, continuing education, or professional development.
— Online pre-nomination form: Extension, Outreach, Continuing Education, & Professional Development
Research
This award recognizes, encourages, and rewards those individuals whose research efforts have been particularly significant and outstanding and are so recognized locally, nationally, and internationally. The results of these research efforts should have added substantially to the basic body of knowledge, have had significant societal impact, and/or inspired the discipline to expand in new research directions. These scholarly pursuits can take many forms. In the words of Vision 2020, “Research, as the creation of knowledge in the broadest sense, encompasses all forms of scholarship from creation of works of art and literature through evaluation and reorganization of knowledge to investigations into the preservation, transmission, and application of knowledge.
— Online pre-nomination form: Research
