Excellence in teaching is a core element of the Fogelman College of Business & Economics' mission. To encourage and recognize excellence among faculty, Fogelman Dean Rajiv Grover has established five new awards for teaching and mentoring.

The new awards are:

• Engaged Creative Teaching Excellence Award (Undergraduate) This award recognizes a faculty member who takes the classroom experience into dimensions that enhance students' understanding of course content and their ability to apply that content to the analysis and solution of practical, real-world business and social problems.
• Teaching Beyond the Classroom Excellence Award (Undergraduate) This award recognizes a faculty member who excels at involving students in academically and professionally enriching activities beyond the classroom and who goes the extra mile to establish relationships with students that evince the faculty member's concern that his or her students obtain meaningful employment upon graduation, advance in their careers and lead happy, healthy, productive lives.
• Engaged Creative Teaching Excellence Award (Graduate) This award recognizes a faculty member who takes the classroom experience into new and creative dimensions that enhance MA, MS and/or MBA students' understanding of course content in a globally competitive environment. The faculty member should augment his or her students' ability to apply course content to the analysis and solution of practical, real-world business and social problems.
• Teaching Beyond the Classroom Excellence Award (Graduate) This award recognizes a faculty member who excels at involving MA, MS and/or MBA students in academically and professionally enriching activities beyond the classroom, possibly including online classes. These activities should lead to the development of a well-rounded, ethical professional. The nominee goes the extra mile to establish relationships with graduate students, demonstrating his or her concern that students obtain meaningful employment upon graduation, advance in their careers and lead happy, healthy, productive lives.
• Research Mentoring Excellence Award This award recognizes faculty members who mentor FCBE doctoral or master's students on research projects that yield A+ rated journal publications (per FCBE's journal ranking policy) with both faculty and student(s) being joint authors. There is no limit to the number of these awards that can be bestowed each year.

Nominations for each new award will take place each spring. All full-time teaching faculty who have taught at FCBE for three years or more are eligible for the awards, the recipients of which will be selected by Dean Grover. Winners each will receive a plaque and a $1,000 cash award.

"As you can see, these awards are different from traditional teaching awards based on student evaluations," Grover said. "We hope that these awards impact quality of student learning more than traditional teaching awards."