Engineer

The Faculty Development Council (FDC) and the Office of the Provost are pleased to announce the Unit Faculty Excellence Awards and the Valerie Scudder Awards.

OBJECTIVE

These awards are intended to recognize, encourage, and celebrate Chapman faculty who demonstrate excellence in one or more of the following areas: teaching, scholarly-creative activity, and service.

AWARDS

Twenty (20) Unit Faculty Excellence Awards may be given each year. Each Excellence award comes with a $1,000 honorarium.

Six (6) Valerie Scudder Awards may be given each year. Each Scudder Award comes with an additional $4,000 honorarium.

ELIGIBILITY

All full-time faculty are eligible for these awards, provided they have not received a Unit Faculty Excellence Award within the past five years. (For example, a faculty member who receives an Excellence Award at the faculty honors convocation in May 2025 may not receive another Excellence Award until the faculty honors convocation in May 2030.)

In keeping with the Faculty Constitution, individuals qualify as "faculty" if they have a full-time faculty contract (i.e., non-administrative) and are primarily responsible for teaching and scholarly-creative activity (i.e., more than 50% of load). In the determination of eligibility, the nominee's dean shall have final say.

NOMINATION AND SELECTION

Unit Faculty Excellence Award – As a matter of faculty governance, the faculty within each unit determine how individuals are to be nominated and selected for Excellence Awards. The process should be fair and equitable. In the case of disputes, the Senate Executive Board (SEB) shall determine whether a unit's nomination and selection process is appropriate.

Valerie Scudder Award – All winners of Unit Faculty Excellence Awards will be considered for Valerie Scudder Awards, provided the unit notifies the FDC of its awardees and provides letters of support prior to the deadline.

ALLOTMENT

The number of Unit Faculty Excellence Awards allotted to each unit is proportional to the number of full-time faculty in that unit. No unit may put forward more awardees than their allotment. The allotment is adjusted annually. This year, the allotment is as follows:

• Argyros College of Business & Economics – 3
• Attallah College of Educational Studies – 1
• School of Communication - 1
• School of Pharmacy – 1
• College of Performing Arts – 1
• Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences – 2
• Dodge College of Film and Media Arts – 2
• Fowler School of Law –1
• Schmid College of Science and Technology –3
• Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences – 4
• Fowler School of Engineering - 1

NOTIFICATION AND RECOMMENDATION

Units must notify the FDC of their selections for the Unit Faculty Excellence Awards, identifying their awardees by name and the specific areas in which they are being recognized (e.g., teaching, service, and/or scholarly-creative activity). Notification must be made through Interfolio: https://apply.interfolio.com/180029

Notification must be made by 8:59pm on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

To have their awardees considered for the Valerie Scudder Award, units must also submit a letter (not to exceed two pages) summarizing the accomplishments and merits of their awardee(s). Letters may be written by senators, chairs, deans, FRCs, nominating committees, or any other party the faculty designate. Letters should be understandable to faculty from diverse disciplines. Recommendations must be submitted through Interfolio: https://apply.interfolio.com/180029

Recommendation letters must be submitted by 8:59pm on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

NOMINEE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Nominees will be notified by email and invited to submit supporting documents to the FDC, specifically:

• a summary of their activities and achievements in the specified area(s) of excellence (not to exceed 1,200 words)
• a curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages)

Supporting documents must be submitted by 8:59pm on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.

The FDC will select Scudder Award winners from among the Excellence Award winners who are reported and recommended to the FDC by the deadline. The winners of the Valerie Scudder Award will be announced at the spring Faculty Honors Convocation.

REQUIREMENTS OF THE AWARDEE

Awardees are expected to attend the spring Faculty Honors Convocation where their awards will be announced.

Questions about these awards should be directed to the chair of the FDC: Kent Lehnhof (lehnhof@chapman.edu).

Chapman University is an equal opportunity employer that provides equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of their protected characteristics. All qualified applicants and employees are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.