Professional Development

Guidelines for Distinguished University Professor Selection

HISTORY 

In Fall 1997, a Faculty Honorifics Committee appointed by the Provost and composed of representatives of the Faculty Senate, the Council of Deans, and the Distinguished Professors/Endowed Chairholders, recommended a new honorific title for USF, Distinguished University Professor. The recommendations of the Faculty Honorifics Committee and subsequent modifications recommended by the Distinguished Professors/Endowed Chairholders and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee are provided in the Attachments to these Guidelines. 

The Distinguished University Professor title replaces the former honorific titles of Distinguished Research Professor and Distinguished Service Professor. Individuals awarded these titles prior to Fall 1998 may continue to use these or adopt the new title of Distinguished University Professor. 

The purpose of the Distinguished University Professor selection process is to recognize senior members of the USF system faculty who have distinguished themselves among their peers both within and outside the University. The title of Distinguished University Professor is awarded to senior faculty through a process of nomination and external peer review and identifies those holding it as outstanding members of their profession. 

RECOGNITION 

The Provost will designate up to three Distinguished University Professors each year and individuals selected will receive a $5,000 base salary adjustment as part of the annual salary increase process in the academic year following their selection as Distinguished University Professors. 

Each honoree will be invited to give a University wide address during the academic year. The State University System title of Distinguished Professor (Class Code 9007) will be used to classify individuals selected as Distinguished University Professors. 

ELIGIBILITY 

To qualify for selection as a Distinguished University Professor, a faculty member must have held the rank of full professor at USF for at least three years and be recognized for pioneering, seminal and distinctive contributions to the development of his or her discipline in areas such as teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, and professional service. 

While the profiles of successful candidates may vary, the successful candidate will normally have achieved international recognition in research/scholarship/creative activity. However, candidates who emphasize their accomplishments in teaching must demonstrate an exemplary record of accomplishment and recognition at the institutional or national level. Candidates who emphasize their accomplishments in professional service must demonstrate a national record of service and leadership within their respective disciplines.

NOMINATION PROCEDURE 

1. Each academic year, if the Dean of a College believes that a senior member of the college faculty merits consideration for appointment as a Distinguished University Professor, the Dean must submit a written nomination of that professor for such appointment.
2. Each College Dean may nominate at least one individual or up to 1% (rounded to the nearest whole number) of the tenured and tenure-earning faculty (filled positions) in the college, whichever is greater.
3. The process for identifying nominees within a College must be collegial and involve a mix of senior faculty who are outstanding in teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and/or service.
4. It is the responsibility of the College Dean to charge the committee that will review nominations within the College.
5. College Deans should consult with Regional Chancellors to seek concurrence if they intend to nominate a faculty member whose home campus is on a branch campus.
6. Each nomination packet will consist of the seven sections below. Each section should be saved as a separate pdf and submitted to the Provost’s Office when completed. 
   1. The nominee’s complete curriculum vitae
      
      
   2.  A letter of nomination written by the College Dean
      
      
   3. List of courses taught, students supervised, summaries of student satisfaction surveys and any assessments of student learning for at least the past five years
      
      
   4. Copies of the nominee’s annual evaluations for the past five years
      
      
   5. A descriptive summary of the nominee’s significant professional service activities for at least the past five years 
      
      
   6. A list of five external (outside of the university) references who have first-hand knowledge of the nominee’s qualifications, profession, and contributions, but have not been co-authors or have personal relationships with the candidate. Please provide the following information for each reference: title, name, university/organization, address, email and telephone number.
      
      NOTE: These individuals will be requested to provide three additional names of reviewers meeting the same criteria specified above for a double-blind evaluation process. However, this does not prevent these references from serving as reviewers if they are named by other references.
      
      
   7. A memo from the chair nominating four people to serve in the respective University Discipline Committee. These names must be approved by the Dean of the College. If possible and practicable, a branch campus faculty member should be included on a University Discipline Committee considering a branch campus faculty nominee. 

 

REVIEW PROCESS 

University Discipline Committee 

The University Discipline Committee will be approved by the Provost’s Office on the basis of recommendations made by the College. The Discipline Committees will be composed of four individuals from the nominees’ disciplines or related disciplines and will reflect a balance of accomplishments in teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and/or professional service. No nominee for Distinguished University Professor may serve on a Discipline Committee.

Each Discipline Committee will review the nomination packet and external reviews for its assigned nominee. Each Discipline Committee should include in their evaluations a summary of the nominees’ accomplishments, and an assessment of the reviews as well as reviewer credentials. The Discipline Committees will provide their evaluations to the University Recommending Committee. The evaluation should reflect the norms of excellence and distinction recognized in the discipline. The evaluation should be in writing and should conclude with an assessment of the nominee’s distinction (highly distinguished, distinguished or marginally distinguished) in areas such as teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, and/or professional service, highlighting the pioneering or seminal work that the candidate has contributed in these areas. The Discipline Committees will not make recommendations regarding a nominee’s worthiness for selection as a Distinguished University Professor.

NOTE: Nominees who were considered for this award within the past two years may submit their external reviews from the previous nomination. In the event nominees do not choose to resubmit the previous external reviews, new external reviews will be obtained as described in the Guidelines. 

University Recommending Committee 

The Provost will appoint a University Recommending Committee of seven senior faculty (full professors), three of whom will be Distinguished Service, Distinguished Research, or Distinguished University Professors. The other four members must be faculty outstanding in research/scholarship/creative activity, teaching, and service. The Committee must be well balanced so that no one area dominates the total membership’s accomplishments. Terms of service will be no more than three years. Each year the University Recommending Committee will select a Chair. No nominee for Distinguished University Professor in a given year may serve on the Committee for that year. If a member of the Committee is nominated, the Provost will appoint an alternate to the Committee for that year. The University Recommending Committee will recommend to the Provost no more than three nominees for selection as Distinguished University Professors.  

The University Recommending Committee will review the following: 

• The complete nomination packet of each nominee; 
• The external reviews of each nominee; and 
• The evaluations prepared by the Discipline Committees. 

ROLE OF DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS 

The role of the on-going active members of Distinguished University Professors is to serve as an advisory group for the Provost and President of the University, and provide discussions and counsel on issues affecting the overall academic and scholarly activities of the University. The group of past Distinguished University Professor awardees meets at least once a semester.

Date of last revision: September 2020