Every year, at the Fall faculty meeting of the College, the W. Russell Smith Award for Teaching Excellence is presented to a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has been teaching in the College for at least three years. It has become abundantly clear in recent years that we have several individuals every year who are worthy of receiving the award. Therefore, beginning in 2005, the Dean's office of the College has also awarded a "College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence" to two tenured/tenure-track faculty members in the College in addition to the W. Russell Smith Award for Teaching Excellence.

Guidelines:

1. The Dean's office will continue to award the W. Russell Smith Award for Teaching Excellence, doing so on the basis of votes cast by students when they file for graduation, as well as on the basis of the other factors such as the number of students taught by the faculty member and the number of students in the major of the faculty member's department. The awardee receives $500 and a plaque. This award may be won only once by any faculty member.
2. The Dean's office will also name two individuals to receive the "College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence" every year, also to be presented at the College faculty meeting in August.
3. The winners will each receive a plaque and a monetary award of $200 to be deposited in an account in the recipient's department.
4. The recipients will be chosen by members of the Dean's staff from the same list of faculty used for the Russell Smith Award.
5. Factors that will be considered in choosing the recipients will include, but not be limited to: nominations received for W. Russell Smith Award; faculty members who have consistently been near the top of the list for the Smith Award, but have never received enough nominations to win the award in the past; endeavors made related to teaching by faculty member; Dean's office's knowledge of faculty member's teaching reputation, etc.
6. There will be no limit on the number of times a faculty member may receive the College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence, but they may receive it no more than once every five years (in other words, a faculty member receiving the award in 2005 would not be eligible to receive the award again until 2010). Faculty members who win the "College of Arts and Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence" remain eligible for the W. Russell Smith Award in subsequent years, unless they have already received this award.