Provost Awards

• Excellence in Teaching 
  Jes Therkelsen, Professor – Department of Media, Communications and Journalism
  
  
• Faculty Service 
  Fernando Parra,Associate Professor – Department of Accountancy
  
  
• Distinguished Achievement in Research, Scholarship or Creative Accomplishment 
  Hovannes Kulhandjian, Associate Professor – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  Marsha Yukhymenko, Associate Professor- Department of Curriculum and Instruction 

 

• Promising New Faculty 
  Chris Miller, Assistant Professor – Department of Psychology
  Hanayo Oya, Assistant Professor – Department of Media, Communications and Journalism
  Soumyasanta Laha, Assistant Professor – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Outstanding Lecturer 
  Howard Hua,Lecturer- Department of Mathematics

 

• Outstanding Staff 
  Jayne Ramirez, Undergraduate Analyst & Catalog Editor- Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies 

Award Categories

• Excellence in Teaching
• Faculty Service
• Research, Scholarship or Creative Accomplishment
• Promising New Faculty
• Outstanding Lecturer
• Outstanding Staff (New Category)
   

Excellence in Teaching

This is the university's highest honor awarded to a faculty member. The award is given in recognition of a well-established teaching career, as evidenced by unparalleled performance in the classroom. Eligible nominees will be full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty. The following criteria will be used:

• Subject Mastery and Scholarship: The nominee demonstrates mastery of the subject matter in courses taught and blends new ideas, research, and developments into classroom instruction.
• Teaching Effectiveness and Creativity: The nominee is open to new techniques that foster learning and uses them in innovative ways to generate student enthusiasm and increase knowledge and awareness of the subject matter. Effective teaching skills are evidenced by consistently clear and engaging presentations; use of methods other than (or in addition to) lectures; integration of high impact practices, e.g. service learning, study abroad, etc., and consistent achievement of desired outcomes.
• Teaching Philosophy: The nominee has a deep interest in and enthusiasm for student learning and the quality of the learning environment. They is (are) approachable, tolerant of different viewpoints, and sensitive to cultural, ethnic, and gender differences. The professor promotes civility and good relationships between and among students.
• Currency: The nominee should be current with developments and findings in their field and in the use of effective pedagogy.

Faculty Service

This award honors outstanding service to the university community and the community-at-large. Service activities might include a pattern of exemplary contributions to one's discipline, faculty governance, service learning, community activities, and other similar achievements. Eligible nominees will be full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty. The following criteria will be used:

• Impact: The primary criterion is impact. There should be substantial evidence that the nominee's service has had a significant positive impact on the community and/or university.
• Scope: There should be substantial evidence that the nominee's professional life has been characterized by a commitment to service activities as opposed to a one-time major involvement. There should not only be evidence of a pattern of service over time, but also of recent and/or current service contributions.

Research, Scholarship, or Creative Accomplishment

This award recognizes demonstrated superior achievement in research, scholarship, or creative activities. Eligible nominees will be full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty. The following criteria will be used:

• Contribution: The primary criterion is outstanding, demonstrated, significant contributions over an extended period of time to the arts, scholarly literature, or to research and scholarship.
• Achievement: There must be evidence that the nominee has performed creative/scholarly/ research work of distinction as demonstrated by publication or artistic production and evaluation by peer review.
• Currency: Nominees shall be scholars who keep current with developments and findings in their fields.

Promising New Faculty

To recognize exemplary achievements in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activities, and/or service among all full-time, tenure-track faculty (or Assistant Professors). The following criteria will be used:

• Contribution: The primary criterion is outstanding, demonstrated, significant contributions to teaching, research, scholarship, creative activities, and/or service.
• Achievement: There must be evidence that the nominee has performed work of superb achievement as demonstrated by publication or artistic production and evaluation by peer review.
• Currency: Nominees shall be scholars who are current with developments and findings in their field and in the use of effective pedagogy.

Outstanding Lecturer

Fresno State is committed to providing encouragement and incentives in support of outstanding teaching achievements by full-time lecturers. To this end, the Provost instituted the Outstanding Lecturer Award in 2016 to honor a lecturer for excellence in teaching effectiveness and service to the Fresno State campus community. All lecturers with one or more years of teaching at Fresno State are eligible to receive the Outstanding Lecturer Award provided they are teaching in the year of the award application. The following criteria will be used:

• Teaching Effectiveness: The principal criterion for receiving this award shall be a sustained record of outstanding teaching across multiple terms as evidenced by:
  • Summaries of student evaluations and sample comments from students.
  • Active participation in curriculum development or improvement, assessment, pedagogical improvement, innovation, or integration of high impact practices into teaching.
  • Peer observations of teaching.
• Service: Engaging in service to the campus and/or contributions beyond classroom teaching that benefits students. Examples may include involving students in research, scholarship or creative activities; conducting extra-curricular activities with students, leading field trips, advising student clubs or organizations, and mentoring/advising students.
• Currency: Nominees should be current with developments and findings in their field and in the use of effective pedagogy.

Outstanding Staff (New Category)

This award is given in recognition of a well-established career as evidenced by unparalleled performance in service to the department/program and the university. Eligible nominees will be full-time staff members in Academic Affairs. The following criteria will be used:

• Service: There should be substantial evidence that the nominee's service has had a significant positive impact on students, faculty, staff, administrators, and/or the larger university. There should be substantial evidence that the nominee's professional life has been characterized by a commitment to service activities as opposed to a one-time major involvement. There should not only be evidence of a pattern of service over time, but also of recent and/or current service contributions.
• Student Success: The nominee demonstrates a commitment to student success through providing outstanding service to students through assisting with effective communication, navigating the campus community, and accessing campus resources. 
• Principles of Community: The nominee demonstrates each of the principles - being respectful, kind, collaborative, and accountable. The nominee always takes the extra step to be of assistance to the campus community. 
• Communication: The nominee demonstrates effective communication in oral and written formats, the ability to communicate data as it pertains to their role, ability to communicate in a way that seeks to be in service to campus and community stakeholders. 
• Budgeting/Scheduling/Other Area(s) of Expertise: The nominee demonstrates excellence and effectiveness in one or more of these areas. Budgeting: knowledge of principles of budgeting, knowledge of policies of various accounts, being a good steward of state resources, and the ability to communicate/forecast the budget. Scheduling: knowledge of scheduling practices with attention to maximizing space allocations and course access; ensuring that scheduling deadlines are met. Development: knowledge of policies affiliated with donors, outstanding record of cultivating donors, and securing donations. Other Area of Expertise: effectiveness in equally important areas but not covered above.
• Lifelong Learning: The nominee demonstrates a commitment to remaining current in their work by participating in professional development and incorporating lessons learned into their work.

Faculty Provost’s Awards

Each academic year, the Provost establishes a Faculty Provost’s Awards Committee.  The committee is composed of the following representatives:

• Two previous Provost’s Awards recipients nominated by the Academic Senate
• One student selected by the Associate Students Incorporated
• The Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs
• One Department Chair selected by the Provost
• One Dean selected by the Council of Deans
• Administrative Assistant/Office of the Provost (staff support, non-voting member)  

Any current faculty member, administrator, staff, or student may nominate 

1. a current, full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member for the
   
   1. Excellence in Teaching Award, 
   2. Faculty Service Award or
   3. Research, Scholarship, or Creative Accomplishment Award
2. a current, full-time tenure-track faculty for the 
   1. Promising New Faculty Award 
3. a current lecturer for the 
   1. Outstanding Lecturer Award
4. a current full-time staff member in Academic Affairs for the
   1. Outstanding Staff Award

Staff Provost's Award

Starting in 2024-25, the Provost will establish a committee for the Staff Provost's Award, consisting of the following representatives:

• One Department Chair (selected by chair’s council)
• One Dean (selected by the Provost)
• One Student Representative selected by the Associate Students Incorporated
• One Staff Member each from Scheduling and from the Budget Office, or otherwise selected by the Provost
• Administrative Assistant/Office of the Provost (staff support, non-voting member)  

Any faculty member, administrator, staff or student may nominate: 

• A current, full-time staff member from the Division of Academic Affairs for the Outstanding Staff Award

For all awards, only one nomination per nominee is accepted.

Each nomination submission will consist of the following:

1. General nominee information (name, rank, etc.)
2. Category of nomination (Faculty Service, etc.)
3. General Nominator information
4. Nomination letter signed by nominator (no more than two single-spaced pages).
5. Nominee's narrative and summary of his/her strengths in light of the criteria for the particular award. Please be very specific and limit the narrative to no more than two single-spaced pages.
6. Nominee's current CV/resume
7. Additional relevant information (optional) not to exceed three pages.

The deadline to submit nominations is 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 28, 2025. All nominations submitted by the deadline will be considered.

View the online nomination form.

In honor of the award recipients, the Provost will host a reception on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, from 3 to 5 p.m. 

The recipient of the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching will be asked to give a presentation in the Provost’s Awards Lecture Series during the fall 2025 semester. All other recipients will be asked to present during the fall 2025 or spring 2026 semesters.

These awards are based upon superior performance in each category, and only current full-time, tenured, tenure-track faculty and current lecturers and staff at California State University, Fresno, are eligible.  More information and criteria for each category can be found at /provosts-awards/award-guidelines/award-categories/index.html.  There is no requirement that every category be awarded each year. Previous recipients are not barred from consideration for a different award during any subsequent year.