The Mariel M. Muir Excellence UPPS No. 04.04.36

In Mentoring Awards Issue No. 4

Effective Date: 2/15/2011

Review: September 1 E6Y

01. POLICY STATEMENT

01.01 This policy statement sets forth guidelines for the Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Awards, which are established to recognize and reward faculty and staff members for mentoring other faculty, staff, or students.

02. GENERAL BACKGROUND

02.01 The Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Awards are established as a way to honor and remember Dr. Mariel M. Muir, former dean of Science, for exceptional support of and commitment to fostering the growth and development of those around her.

02.02 The university will give the awards to persons who provide exceptional support of and show exceptional commitment to assisting less experienced individuals in becoming more proficient in their professional activities and educational pursuits. Awardees should demonstrate their exceptional support and commitment by contributing time, effort, and advice that enhance the performance of other faculty, staff, or students. The award recognizes them as role models who foster the growth and development of co-workers and students.

02.03 The university will present two awards each year, one to a faculty member and another to a staff member.

02.04 The president will present the Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Awards each year at a fall luncheon with the awardees, their guests, the other nominees, and senior academic administrators (President's Cabinet, Council of Academic Deans, Council of Chairs, officers of Staff Council, as well as members of the Selection Committee). The President's Council for Women, in consultation with the President's Office, will also extend an invitation to a woman who has achieved a position in academic higher administration to attend the luncheon, meet the award recipients, and present a keynote address at the luncheon.

The awardees will receive recognition at the Fall University Convocation and Annual General Meeting.

02.05 Each mentoring award recipient will receive a $2,500 award and a plaque, funded through the Faculty and Staff Awards Programs. All nominees will receive a letter from the president congratulating them on their nomination.

02.06 The Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Selection Committee will screen those nominated for this award.

02.07 A biographical sketch of Dr. Mariel M. Muir will accompany the announcement soliciting applications and nominations for the award.

03. AWARD CRITERIA

03.01 The university will base the award on the following demonstrated criteria:

a. critical support that assists the mentees in functioning effectively in the organization;

b. sustained commitment to a professional relationship with an individual or individuals that results in career growth or personal development of the mentees; and

c. behavior, attitudes, and skills that aid the mentees in achieving competence, confidence, and a professional identity.

03.02 Faculty with administrative duties, such as deans, will receive consideration with all other faculty for this award.

04. PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTING SELECTION COMMITTEE

04.01 The provost and the vice president for Finance and Support Services (VPFSS) will begin, by September 1st of each year, the process of forming the Selection Committee for the Mariel M. Muir Excellence in Mentoring Award. The following will compose the Selection Committee:

a. director of the Academic Development and Assessment;

b. faculty and staff who were the award winners for the prior two years;

c. a graduate assistant nominated by the dean of The Graduate College;

d. a staff member nominated by the Staff Council;

e. two representatives-at-large from the university – a faculty member nominated by the provost, and a staff member nominated by the VPFSS;

f. one of the co-chairs of the President's Council for Women in Higher Education, who will rotate in service as chair of the Selection Committee and who will not vote except in the event of a tie; and

g. coordinator of the University Mentoring Program.

04.02 By October 1st, the VPFSS will notify the Selection Committee members.

04.03 The chair will convene the Selection Committee for its meeting by October 15th. At that meeting, the Committee will review the criteria for the award and make any necessary changes. The provost and the VPFSS must approve substantive changes.

05. THE NOMINATION PROCESS

05.01 By November 1st, the chair of the Selection Committee will send a statement about the award, the criteria, and the required documentation to all faculty, staff, and university administrators encouraging them to submit and support nominations.

05.02 Faculty will submit recommendations to their college dean by January 31st; staff will submit recommendations to their director/department chair/dean by January 31st. The directors will forward all nominations to their vice president by February 15th.

05.03 By March 15th, each dean will submit to the Selection Committee chair, one faculty nomination. By March 15th, the provost, each vice president, and the director of Athletics will submit to the Selection Committee chair up to two staff nominations. The special assistant to the president may also submit one nomination from offices reporting to the president. The Selection Committee will select nominations from the recommendations according to Selection Committee criteria and forward them with appropriate documentation.

06. DOCUMENTATION FOR THE AWARD

06.01 The documentation of exceptional commitment to mentoring, which accompanies each nomination form, should include the following:

a. a completed nomination form and an accompanying letter of nomination and support, which should include reasons for the nomination and the period over which the mentoring has occurred (see Attachment I);

b. a brief professional sketch that describes the nominees’ mentoring activities and impact of those activities; and

c. letters of support from colleagues, co-workers, and students (no more than a total of five letters, including the letter of nomination and support referenced in Section 06.01 a.). Letters of support should originate primarily from individuals outside of the nominee’s professional supervisory relationships.

07. THE SELECTION AND AWARD PROCESS

07.01 By April 15th, the Selection Committee will review the nominations, basing its selections on the criteria outlined in Section 03.

07.02 By May 1st, the Committee will make their first, second, and third choices for both faculty and staff and forward these choices to the president via the VPFSS and the provost. In the absence of qualified nominees in any year, the Committee may recommend that no award be given. A copy of the nomination form for each person and the names of all nominees for the award should accompany the list of finalists.

07.03 Only Selection Committee members in attendance at the meeting may vote.

07.04 The president will send a personal letter to the recipients by August 15th announcing their awards and asking the recipients to walk onto the stage to receive their awards at the Fall University Convocation. The president will also send an administrative memo to the university community by August 15th announcing the recipients.

07.05 University News Service will prepare and distribute the appropriate news releases, which should include a brief description of Dr. Muir.

07.06 The president will honor the awardees with a plaque and a $2,500 award at a fall luncheon with their guests, the other nominees, and senior academic administrators, as outlined in Section 02.04.

08. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS

08.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:

Position Date

Co-chair, President's Council September 1 E6Y

for Women in Higher Education

Co-chair, President's Council September 1 E6Y

for Women in Higher Education

Chair, Staff Council September 1 E6Y

Chair, Faculty Senate September 1 E6Y

09. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

This UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

Co-chair, President's Council for Women in Higher Education; senior reviewer of this UPPS

President