Purpose 

This award is given to exceptional UVU employees who are acknowledged by their leaders and peers to be outstanding in their profession. Recipients of this award embody exemplary character traits and work ethics and demonstrate excellence in furthering the mission of the University through innovation, creativity, service, dedication, leadership, efficiency, exceptional performance, contribution to the University, effectiveness, or inclusion within Utah Valley University. 

 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Nominees must be full-time staff, employed full-time for at least one year at the time of nomination. 
• Nominees cannot be the recipient of a university or division level award in the last three years. 

 

Nomination Process  

The criteria for the Provost's Awards will be based on the Staff Competencies.  Each nomination should include a paragraph detailing how the potential recipient met or exceeded expectations for each of the six competencies over the last year.  Each nomination will be reviewed by a committee which will determine the final recipient(s). Candidates not selected may be re-nominated in future years. 

 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo - should include a paragraph detailing how the potential recipient met or exceeded expectations for each of the six competencies over the last year.

 

Selection Criteria  

The committee will evaluate nominations, looking for the following (these are examples, not an exhaustive list):  

• Evidence of how the nominee met or exceeded expectations for each of the six competencies and core values of Exceptional Care, Exceptional Accountability, and Exceptional Results over the last year 
• Evidence of how the nominee made an outstanding contribution to the achievement of UVU’s mission through innovation, creativity, service, dedication, leadership, efficiency, exceptional performance, contribution to the University, effectiveness, or inclusion within Utah Valley University. 

 

Purpose 

As part of the Academic Affairs recognition strategy, this award recognizes members of the UVU faculty with a long-standing track record of teaching (10+ cumulative years) at UVU. This is a prestigious, “lifetime achievement” award. The focus is on teaching only. The award can be obtained by a faculty member only once.  

 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Must hold current full-time faculty status: lecturer (including Professionals in Residence), associate professor, or full professor. 
• At the time of nomination, must be teaching a minimum average of 12 ICHE per semester. Exceptions will be made for those in schools and colleges where teaching load is dictated by accreditation requirements, such as WSB and some departments in CET that are required to teach an average of 9 ICHE per semester. There may be other exceptions. 
• Must have a minimum of cumulative 10 years of full-time teaching at UVU in both upper and lower division and in a diverse range of classes. 

 

Nomination Process  

Department chairs may nominate faculty members that meet the criteria and forward them to the Dean by the due date each year. The Dean of each school or college may forward one nomination each year to the committee for consideration. Faculty may not self-nominate. The committee will review each nomination and will recommend one recipient to the Provost, who will make the final decision. Candidates not selected may be re-nominated in future years. 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo - Specifically list how the nominee fits the criteria with examples.
• Dean will need to provide a letter of support with specifics as to why this candidate represents the school or college in this award. 
• No self-nominations

 

Selection Criteria  

The committee will evaluate nominations, looking for some of the following (these are examples, not an exhaustive list): 

• The nominee has developed rigorous and supportive classroom experiences as evidenced by curriculum. 
• The nominee has created an inclusive classroom environment as evidenced by curricular design or redesign. 
• The nominee has demonstrated the effective use of technology, including Canvas and other relevant technologies. 
• The nominee has demonstrated teaching excellence across the range of curriculum levels from 1000 (including general education classes) to 4000 level classes as well as the range of student skill levels. 

• The nominee has demonstrated teaching excellence across a broad range of modalities, course sizes, and flexibility of offerings. 
• The nominee has demonstrated that they keep the curriculum relevant as demonstrated by updates to the curriculum – e.g. new technology sociological changes  
• The nominee has evidence of impact on students beyond grading. 
• The nominee has provided unique learning experiences, engaged learning opportunities, or other activities beyond the traditional classroom experience. 
• The nominee has won an external teaching award. 
• The nominee has demonstrated significant efforts to improve their own teaching through professional development opportunities and can provide evidence about how they have implemented this learning. 
• The nominee has evidence of student appreciation and understanding of the course objectives and teaching methods (through SRIs, etc.)  
• The nominee can provide any other relevant material to demonstrate excellence in teaching.

Purpose 

The Provost’s Student Success Award recognizes outstanding contributions by UVU faculty and staff in fostering student achievement, engagement, and overall success. Nominees should demonstrate exceptional dedication, innovation, and impact in their roles.

 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Open to full-time staff and faculty members currently employed by Utah Valley University and in good standing.

• Must have been employed for at least one academic year prior to the nomination deadline.

 

Nomination Process  

• Nominations may be submitted by faculty, staff, or administrators.
• Nominees should submit a detailed statement describing how the nominee meets the award criteria, including specific examples of the nominee’s contributions to student success.

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo - attach a detailed statement describing how the nominee meets the award criteria, including examples of the nominee’s contributions to student success, including supporting materials such as data or letters of support and recommendation.

 

Selection Criteria  

The committee will evaluate nominations, looking for some of the following (these are examples, not an exhaustive list):

• The nominee demonstrates a student-centered approach by consistently prioritizing student needs, development, and well-being; or acting as a mentor, advocate, or role model to inspire students to excel academically and personally.
• The nominee demonstrates innovation in student support, such as implementing creative programs, teaching methods, or services to enhance student learning or engagement, or developing new initiatives or improvements to existing systems to meet the evolving needs of UVU students.
• The nominee’s work demonstrates impact on student outcomes, such as measurable and documented improvement in student retention, graduation rates, or academic performance, as well as empowering students to achieve their personal, academic, and professional goals.
• The nominee demonstrates collaboration and leadership through working collaboratively with colleagues, departments, or community partners to support student success initiatives, exhibiting leadership in advancing UVU’s mission to foster student success.

Purpose 

This award is given to exceptional UVU employees in the Division of Academic Affairs who are acknowledged by their leaders and peers to be outstanding in their profession. Recipients of this award embody exemplary character traits and work ethics and demonstrate excellence in furthering the mission of the University through innovation, creativity, service, dedication, leadership, efficiency, exceptional performance, contribution to the University, effectiveness, or inclusion within Utah Valley University. 

 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Nominees must be full-time staff employed in the UVU Division of Academic Affairs full-time for at least one year at the time of nomination. 
• Nominees cannot be the recipient of a university or division level award in the last three years. 

 

Nomination Process  

The criteria for the Provost's Awards will be based on the Staff Competencies.  Each nomination should include a paragraph detailing how the potential recipient met or exceeded expectations for each of the six competencies over the last year.  Each nomination will be reviewed by a committee which will determine the final recipient(s). Candidates not selected may be re-nominated in future years. 

 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo
• Include a paragraph detailing how the potential recipient met the selection criteria over the last year.
• No self-nominations

 

Selection Criteria  

The committee will evaluate nominations, looking for the following (these are examples, not an exhaustive list):  

• Evidence of how the nominee met or exceeded expectations for each of the six competencies and core values of Exceptional Care, Exceptional Accountability, and Exceptional Results over the last year 
• Evidence of how the nominee made an outstanding contribution to the achievement of UVU’s mission through innovation, creativity, service, dedication, leadership, efficiency, exceptional performance, contribution to the University, effectiveness, or inclusion within Utah Valley University. 

 

Purpose 

This award recognizes and encourages academic innovation to help UVU students succeed through increasing retention and completion rates, in-career job placement, decreasing time to completion.

• UVU Innovative Pedagogy Individual Award
• UVU Innovative Pedagogy Group Award
• UVU Innovative External Collaboration Individual Award
• UVU Innovative External Collaboration Group Award

 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Open to all UVU full-time faculty, adjuncts, and staff in the Academic Affairs division.
• Groups may include any combination of FT faculty, adjuncts, and staff (at least one must group member must be in AA)
• The initiative for which the nominee is recommended was started within the last three years.

 

Nomination Process 

Anyone in Academic Affairs can nominate themselves or their team, or another individual or team, for this award. 

Nominees shall submit a letter (3-page maximum) describing the initiative and how it fulfills the specific evaluation criteria. The semester(s)/date(s) of the initiative should also be included.

Group award nominations shall include each member’s name, their department, and their role in the initiative.

 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo
• Include a nomination Letter (3-page maximum) describing the initiative and how it fulfills the specific evaluation criteria. The semester(s)/date(s) of the initiative should also be included.
• Group award nominations shall include each member’s name, their department, and their role in the initiative.

 

Selection Criteria 

The awards will be given based on initiatives or interventions that have been developed and implemented to provide innovative pedagogy, opportunities that connect students with the community, engagement with potential employers, etc.

Nominees will be evaluated on the following criteria.  Competitive initiatives may not include every aspect of the criteria. 

• Ingenuity
• Large number of students impacted and potential scalability
• Focus on underrepresented student populations or a specific population that is underrepresented in the discipline
• Strong assessment methodology such as pre- and post- surveys, retention data, pass rates, etc.
• Overcoming challenges and lessons learned
• Interdisciplinarity (this will generally only apply to group awards).
• Specific indicators of success

Additional criteria for External Partner Awards:

• External partner impact on students
• Student impact on eternal partners

Purpose 

This award recognizes the role of UVU General Education in student success and rewards faculty and staff for their advocacy with students and others about the importance of General Education.

 

Eligibility 

• Any UVU faculty member, including adjuncts 
• Any staff member in the Academic Affairs division  

 

Nomination Process  

Members of the Academic Affairs Council (AAC) may nominate one faculty and one staff member and forward them to the committee by the due date each year. Faculty and staff may not self-nominate. The AAC member will send a maximum one-page letter to the committee detailing how the nominee meets the criteria. The committee will review each application and recommend outstanding nominees to the Provost, who will make the final decision. 

 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo 
•  Members of AAC will attach Nomination Letter (no self-nominations) – Specifically how the nominee fits the criteria with examples. 

 

Selection Criteria 

The committee will review nominations looking for evidence and examples of how the nominee has acted as an advocate for General Education outside of a classroom setting through promotion or advocacy in a way that makes students appreciate the importance of the GE curriculum to their success in work and life. 

 

Purpose 

This award recognizes the importance of General Education in student success and rewards faculty and staff who bring outstanding effort, energy, and creativity to GE classes.  

 

Eligibility Criteria 

The following groups are eligible for this award if they have taught at least five sections in a GE class. There are separate awards for each group.  

• Full-time faculty 
• Adjunct faculty 
• UVU Staff Adjunct Faculty 

 

Nomination Process  

Department chairs may nominate one faculty member in each category with their Dean’s approval and forward it to the committee by the due date each year. Faculty may not self-nominate. The department chair will send a maximum one-page letter to the committee detailing how the nominee meets the criteria. The committee will review each application and recommend a few outstanding nominees to the Provost, who will make the final decision.

 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo 
•  Department Chairs will attach Nomination Letter (no self-nominations) – Specifically how the nominee fits the criteria with examples. 

 

Selection Criteria 

The committee will evaluate nominations, looking for examples and evidence of how the nominee has brought outstanding effort, energy, and creativity to the GE classes they teach.

 

Purpose 

The Workforce Readiness Award recognizes UVU faculty who demonstrate exceptional dedication to preparing students for successful careers. This includes designing relevant curricula and providing individualized student support. Recipients exemplify UVU’s mission by equipping students for success in both work and life.

 

Eligibility Criteria 

• Nominees must have taught at UVU for at least three semesters as full-time or adjunct faculty (excluding high school concurrent enrollment teachers) and be currently employed at UVU at the time of nomination.
• Nominees must not have received a university- or division-level award in the past three years.

 

Nomination Process

• Each nomination must include at least one paragraph explaining how the nominee meets the selection criteria listed below.
• A committee will review all nominations and determine the award recipient(s).
• Self-nominations are allowed. Nominees not selected may be re-nominated in future years.

 

For Submission

• Enter information in AwardCo 
• Include a detailed paragraph explaining how the nominee demonstrates the specified criteria.

 

Selection Criteria 

The selection committee will evaluate nominations based on evidence of the following (examples provided but not exhaustive):

• Embedding relevant industry credentials into course content. Please include links to examples where applicable.
• Aligning course and program learning objectives with documented workforce needs and state or regional workforce data.
• Engaging industry professionals with students through guest lectures, Q&A sessions, internship announcements, tours, field trips, and other interactive opportunities.
• Identifying courses and competencies where students can apply for Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) based on professional experience.
• Incorporating experiential learning into courses through service-learning, project-based learning, industry partnerships, or similar workforce-focused methods.
• Actively participating in faculty externships, program advisory boards, consulting, or other forms of direct industry engagement.