Excellence in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work

Award Description:

The BFA Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work celebrates faculty contributions of the highest quality.  Emphasis will be on work that may not receive recognition through the usual channels, has an interdisciplinary focus, or is the culmination of long-term achievement in one’s field.

Award Selection Guidelines:

The BFA is especially interested in research, scholarly, and creative work nominations that include one or more of the following:

  • Contributions of an interdisciplinary nature
  • Work not recognized through the usual channels, such as work done with undergraduates, public-facing work, work published outside the tenure track, or with underserved populations.
  • Projects that integrate long-term achievement
  • Work that demonstrates a positive impact on under-served populations and adheres to C.U. Boulder's commitment to Inclusive Excellence and Sustainability.

Additionally, the selection committee places a premium on the lucid explanation of the contribution and its broad relevance, appropriate to an engaged, curious audience not necessarily trained in the nominee’s area of specialization.  

If the candidate’s work has been recognized already by prizes or awards, please include that information. Do not submit samples of published materials.

Nomination Packet Requirements - 20 page maximum

Research, Scholarly, and Creative packets must be submitted as a single PDF document named "firstname.lastname" 

Packets must be submitted in this order:

  • Nomination Statement – 2-page max
  • Nominee Personal Statement – 2-page max
  • CV - 4-page max  should focus on the area of research, scholarly, or creative work the faculty being nominated 
  • 4-6 Letters of Support – each letter has a 2-page maximum*
    • Internal – 2 letters minimum; 3 max.
    • External - 2 letters minimum; 3 max.

*Partial pages will be counted as a full page

Requirements for letters of support:

  • All letters must be addressed to the nominator, not the nominee
  • Letters may be from an individual or can be prepared and jointly signed by more than one person 
  • Internal letters must come from CU Boulder campus faculty. The faculty member may be from the nominee’s home department/unit or from another department/unit on campus.
  • External letters cannot be from faculty rostered in the nominee’s home unit. External letters should come from the extended community and may include:
    • CU Boulder faculty who are not in the nominee’s rostered department
    • Faculty outside of CU Boulder
    • University administrators, CU alumni, and/or current students
    • Officials or representatives from a related research organization or agency

Recommendations for letters of support:

  • Review the selection guidelines above for the areas of research that will be emphasized by the selection committee.
  • Whenever possible, provide letters that address different facets of the nominee’s research, creative or scholarly work.
  • Solicit internal and external letters from the individuals best qualified to comment on those areas.
  • When requesting faculty letters of support, please let letter-writers know there is a 2-page maximum.
  • Submit nomination packets several days in advance of the deadline for an internal office requirement review. 

Packet Submission Instructions:

  • Materials must be saved as one nomination packet in a single PDF file titled: NomineeFirstName.NomineeLastName.pdf
  • Submit the packet to via email to: bfa@colorado.edu prior to or by midnight on the submission deadline of Friday, January 31, 2024
  • Nominators/Nomination Committees are strongly advised to turn in their packet at least 2-3 days prior to the deadline for office review of packet requirements.
    • Packets submitted several days in advance of the deadline will be allowed to fix issues with their packets.
    • Packets turned in the day of the submission deadline will not be allowed to fix any issues with their packets.

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Please note:

  • Nominees must be members of the Boulder Faculty Senate as defined by CU Regent Law and the CU Faculty Senate Constitution.
  • The selection process gives preference to nominees who have been with the University of Colorado for at least five years.
  • Nominated faculty must be in good standing with the University in order to be considered.
  • Although faculty may receive the award for a given category only once, they are eligible to receive awards in either of the other two categories in different years.
  • If your nominee is selected for the award, every person who contributed a letter of support will be invited to the Excellence Awards ceremony.
  • Nominees who are not selected in a given year may choose to be considered one additional time the following academic year.

 

Please read through the FAQ's below. If you have any questions about the nomination process contact the BFA office at bfa@colorado.edu, or call at 303-492-6271

FAQs

If a packet is turned in prior to the deadline date, nominators will be given the opportunity to revise and fix the packet. If the packet is turned in on the day of the deadline, it will be cut internally at page maximums. In some extreme cases a packet may be rejected.

Unless a packet is submitted in advance (see above) any nomination packet item that exceeds the page maximum will be cut at the required page maximum.

A partial page is counted as a full page and will be cut at the 2nd page or page maximum.

Nominators are asked to let writers know there is a page maximum when they request the letter. Letters will be cut at the page maximum. See 1, 2, & 3 above.

All packets must include a minimum of 4 letters of support (2 in each category of “internal” and “external”.) However, a nominator or nominating committee may choose to include a third letter of support in either category (internal or external) as long as the packet remains at or below a total page count of 20. It would be possible, for example, for a packet to have room for a third one-page letter of support if the nomination statement is only one page long.

Not necessarily. Not all letters of support are equal. It is up to the nominator/nominating committee to determine which and how many letters should be included. Nominators/nominating committees should submit the strongest packet overall that provides the best information for the selection committee to review, while adhering to all page maximums.

See the requirements for letters of support above. Letters of support should demonstrate to the selection committee broad support for the nominee and their work both inside and outside the nominee’s unit.