The ten finalists for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's annual Professor of the Year award are listed. Their descriptions of the teacher who most influenced them during their undergraduate years, and the reasons, are presented. (MSE)

Good programs for recognizing exemplary college teaching are consistent with institutional mission and values, are grounded in research-based competencies and practices, recognize all significant facets of instruction, reward both collaborative and individual achievements, neither preclude nor replace the institutional reward system, call on those…

While college faculty are considered professionals because of their disciplinary orientations, their advising roles are not always considered in this regard. A parallel can be drawn between the functions of teaching and advising, with professionalism and appropriate professional recognition as key ingredients in both. (MSE)

By combining modest stipends, contracts, well-structured training, instructional videotapes, individual consultations, written reports, and public recognition for faculty participants, the College of Marin (California) program in faculty classroom research has thrived. Although improved academic achievement has not been substantiated, several…

Superior college teachers can make valuable contributions to both their institutions and one another when their institutions help them form communities of expertise, modeled on national academies for outstanding individuals in the sciences and arts. The small number of such teaching academies in the United States has varied structures, goals, and…

A discussion of reward programs to recognize effective teaching looks first at the nature of existing award systems, and outlines key considerations in development of the awards, including aspects of teaching to be honored, evidence on which selections are based, and selection processes. Suggestions made by several award recipients on how to…

A survey of 346 academic officers at 2-year colleges investigated the ways in which they honor faculty, selection methods, and perceived institutional benefits of teaching award programs. Suggestions for assessing an institution's methods of honoring exemplary teaching are outlined, using illustrations from the experiences of survey respondents.…

The evolution and design of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln's departmental system of teaching awards are outlined. Ways of rewarding outstanding teaching are suggested, including promotion, tenure, merit pay, increasing nominations for teaching awards, faculty development leaves for teaching, provision of special resources beyond the usual…

Means of honoring teaching at the United States Military Academy (New York) are discussed. The internal debate over teaching awards within this specific academic culture, in which faculty are mostly military officers, is examined and alternatives for honoring teaching are explored. Currently, a teaching academy provides faculty development in…

An alternative to individual awards to honor outstanding college teaching is the program or departmental award for teaching effectiveness. The University of Wisconsin system's program requires department members to work together to prepare a nomination portfolio and formulate a succinct statement on teaching philosophy and goals, both valuable…

A discussion of the ways in which liberal arts colleges honor exemplary teaching looks at five common practices (outstanding teacher awards, mentoring programs, articles in school publications, participation in national award systems, and merit raises) and makes recommendations for designing and strengthening reward programs and improving the…

Academic reward systems are widely perceived to emphasize research over teaching, inhibiting instructional and curricular change. Despite much conversation about changing the reward system for faculty, there is reluctance to take action. Unless teaching is better rewarded, there is a danger that external agencies will introduce their own measures…

In award programs designed to honor exemplary college teaching, common problems include selection procedures and criteria, bias toward popularity, competition versus collaboration, questionable incentives, and use of special awards to replace continuing rewards. An effective teaching awards program will pass three tests of selection validity,…

Through surveys, interviews, and videotape presentations, a study has collected college faculty attitudes about academic advising since 1982. Excerpts, presented here, show a perception of the advisor as helper, educator, and mentor, but dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy of advising, need for better advising resources, need for enhanced…

College faculty must know that the major administrators at their institutions value the activity of academic advising. Demonstration of a commitment to effectiveness includes using advising as part of the workload/reward system and discussing advising with other significant priorities. This forceful administrative message articulates leaders'…