Report of the Meigs Award Committee

UGA Teaching Academy
Revised: December 12, 2001

Preface

This Subcommittee of the Teaching Academy consisted of Dan Coenen, Jeremy Kilpatrick, Sherrie Nist, Fred Stephenson, and Susette Talarico (chair). We were asked to assess whether the University should create a Meigs Teaching Professorship in addition to or in place of the existing Meigs Teaching Award. In his charge to the Subcommittee, Josef Broder, Chair of the UGA Teaching Academy Executive Committee, also noted that we were free to review and comment on the current Meigs Teaching Award selection process.

In our deliberations, we were unanimous that nothing should be done that would in any way diminish the honor or prestige of the Meigs Award. Additionally, we concluded that the Meigs Award should be clearly identified as the University's highest teaching distinction and that as recommended here, it should be comparable to (i.e., the institutional parallel of) the Distinguished Research Professorship..

To this end, we offer several recommendations on the nature of the award, the selection criteria, and the selection process. Also, we offer additional recommendations on the need to recognize and reward quality teaching at UGA.

Recommendations on the Nature of the Meigs Award

1. We recommend that the Meigs Award be changed to the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship and that the title be applied automatically and retroactively to all previous recipients.
   
   
2. We recommend that the award carry a permanent salary increase of $7,000 (equivalent in salary increase to the Distinguished Research Professorship). We also recommend that this equivalence be maintained. Changes in permanent salary increase should not be applied to faculty who receive the title automatically and retroactively. We also recommend that Meigs Professors be awarded a discretionary fund of $3,000 per year for three years.
   
   
3. We recommend that, consistent with current practice, up to five Meigs Professorships may be awarded each year.

Recommendations on Criteria for the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship

4. We recommend that tenured associate and full professors be eligible for the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship. This is also consistent with current practice.
   
   
5. We recommend that applicants for the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorships must have served a minimum of ten years in a faculty position at UGA and must have tenure.
   
   
6. We recommend that faculty who won a Meigs Award after September 1, 1988 be ineligible to apply for the Meigs Professorship. As noted in recommendation # 1, the title proposed here would be applied automatically to all of these former Meigs Awardees.
   
   
7. We endorse the requirements as to the length and content of the dossier that were offered in Dan Coenen's May 30, 2001 report to Karen Holbrook. We also recommend that the three criteria outlined in current guidelines be retained.

Recommendations on the Selection Process

8. We recommend that the selection committee consist of seven faculty and two students. At least four of the seven faculty members must be former Meigs Award recipients. All faculty members will serve staggered, two-year terms with selection by the UGA Teaching Academy Executive Committee. Students will serve one-year terms and will be appointed by the Student Government Association. The committee will elect its own chair.
   
   
9. We recommend that the current nomination process be retained but that eligibility be extended to faculty members in divisions and institutes not represented in the colleges and schools specified in the current guidelines. A division (e.g., Division of Academic Assistance) or institute (e.g., Institute of Higher Education) will be allowed to nominate one faculty member.

Additional Recommendations

10. We recommend that any future changes to the guidelines that govern the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorships be made by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost in consultation with the UGA Teaching Academy.
    
    
11. We recommend that after the Teaching Academy has acted on these recommendations, the Teaching Academy Executive Committee designate a committee to revise the current guidelines to reflect the changes that have been approved.
    
    
12. We recommend that a new teaching award be established at UGA. Such an award should parallel the Creative Research Awards issued annually by the University and should recognize specific instructional achievement in the context of an overall commitment to quality instruction at UGA. Additionally, we recommend that this award be named in honor of Professor Emeritus Ronald Simpson and that selection criteria and process be specified by the UGA Teaching Academy.