Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction Award

The Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction Award (EUIA) award honors excellent undergraduate teaching in the university, specifically among non-tenure track educators not recognized by the NIU Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. Recipients of the EUIA will be among the most outstanding instructors on campus. Undergraduate students have a significant role in nominating instructors for this award.

Each department nominates an instructor by providing their college with nomination materials. The colleges then select nominees for consideration by the Committee for the Improvement of Undergraduate Academic Experience (CIUAE). The committee chooses the award recipients.

If you have any questions about the award or nomination process, contact the CIUAE chair, Farah Ishaq at fishaq@niu.edu.

2023 Award Winner

Taylor Hartman,
Department of World
Languages and Cultures

Criteria and Eligibility

Nominees for the Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction Award (EUIA) should:

  • Help their students grow in appreciation and knowledge of their subject area.
  • Vary their methods of instruction to meet students' needs.
  • Support students outside of class time.
  • Receive consistently positive teaching evaluations.
  • Have in-depth knowledge of their subject area and its teaching methods.
  • Work to improve undergraduate education at NIU.

In order to be eligible, a nominee must:

  • Be an instructor at NIU (non-tenured or tenure-track) with regular teaching responsibilities.
  • Have completed at least five full academic years at NIU.
  • Have taught at least six evaluated course sections at the undergraduate level over the last three years.

An individual can only receive the EUIA once. Members of the CIUAE are not eligible.

Timetable/Deadlines

Date Activity
October 9, 2023 Competition opens. CIUAE notifies deans and department chairs, who notify faculty and student advisory committees.
December 15, 2023 Nominations due to departments (suggested deadline).
January 5, 2024 Nominations due to colleges (suggested deadline).
January 29, 2024 Nominations due to CIUAE (firm deadline).
March 25, 2024 Applicants and chairs notified of results.
April 2024 Awards presented at Faculty Awards Ceremony.

Nomination Form and Process

In general, the nomination process is as follows:

  1. Department receives nominations; may interview nominees or request updated CVs.
  2. Department selects nominee and sends nomination materials to college.
  3. College selects nominee(s), adds information to nomination materials and submits to the CIUAE.
  4. CIUAE selects recipients.

Departments and colleges must ensure there is no discrimination based on race, sex, age or other characteristic not related to teaching ability.

Nominees may not participate in the selection process. Anyone assisting in the process must remove themselves from consideration.

Nomination Form

Department Nomination Process

Each department can select one nominee. The department's student advisory committee should make the selection, or the department should follow procedures set by the department and committee. Undergraduate students from a range of department programs should form at least half of any selection committee.

Departmental instructors, faculty and administrators  can assist students with the nomination process by:

  • Providing a list of eligible instructors.
  • Ensuring consideration of those who regularly teach introductory and general education courses.
  • Mentoring the advisory committee.
  • Serving on a selection committee.
  • Organizing nomination materials.
  • Requesting nomination and recommendation letters through newsletters or other means.

If the department doesn't have a student advisory committee, a faculty committee can submit a nominee. Student input should still be considered and must be documented.

Departments must provide complete nomination materials to their college:

  • Completed nomination form (all six prompts).
  • Uploaded letters of recommendation.
  • Certification that department procedures met requirements.

College Nomination Process

The number of nominees a college can submit to the CIUAE depends on its percentage of total university instructors. The number of nominees for the academic year are:

  • College of Business: 1
  • College of Engineering and Engineering Technology: 1
  • College of Education: 2
  • College of Health and Human Sciences: 2
  • College of Visual and Performing Arts: 2
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: 4

The college's student advisory committee, or similar group, should consider nominations received from all the college's departments when selecting nominee(s).

The college must add information to the nomination form and submit it to the CIUAE by the specified deadline.

Past Recipients

2022

Stephanie Uhr, School of Nursing

2021

Theresa "Terry" Annis, School of Nursing

2020

Kerry Sagebiel, Department of Anthropology

2019

Mary Landeros, Department of Sociology

2018

Daniel Libman, Department of English

2017

Janet Reynolds, Sociology

2016

Jason Akst, Communication

2015

Timothy Dimond, Accountancy

2014

Kimberly Gatz, Communication

2013

Timothy Pierce, Communication

2012

Matt Swan, Communication

2011

Jeanne Jakubowski, English

2010

Jack King, Sociology

2009

Ed Brata, Marketing

2008

John Bradley, English

2007

Nancy Oldenburg, Nursing

2006

Joe Bonomo, English

Contact Us

Division of Academic Affairs

Altgeld Hall 215
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-8387
provost@niu.edu

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