Chancellor’s Medal for Research and
Creative Activities

The Chancellor’s Medal for Research and Creative Activities is presented each spring to recognize and encourage sustained excellence in academic research, creative activity, scholarship, and mastery of subject matter by faculty at Arkansas State University.  Nominations should be based on a continuous record of research/scholarly productivity, with consistent publications of particularly high quality, and/or regular receipt of significant research funding, and/or other extended meritorious achievement.  

The Chancellor’s Medal award will consist of a $5000 check and a medal to be worn at the spring commencement ceremony.

The award will be presented at the annual Faculty Honors Convocation in April.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this award, a candidate must hold a full-time tenured faculty position at the rank of associate or full professor and have been at Arkansas State University for at least 5 years. The faculty member must have contributed a meaningful amount of their work while a member of our University.  Nominees will be evaluated on the quality of work over their academic career, and this evaluation will be based on the records and supporting materials the faculty members are asked to supply.

A faculty member is only eligible for this award once in their career.

Nomination Procedure

Nominations may be submitted by any member of the faculty at the University or by a student. However, since only one nominee from each department is accepted into the pool, Department Chairs will have the final determination as to which faculty member from their department will be nominated each year.  Each Chair may submit one nomination to their Dean no later than the deadline, and each Dean may choose one nominee from among those to submit to the Faculty Achievement Awards Committee (FAAC). 

Selection

The Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will facilitate the selection process, which will consist of two levels of review:

1. FAAC will meet to discuss the nominations and prepare a report of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate and send an ordered ranking forward to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost for the next step in the selection process.  All discussions will be considered confidential.
2. The Chancellor will make the final award selection.  Importantly, the Chancellor may decide to not make an award if they feel that none of the nominees has provided evidence of sufficient meritorious achievement in research/scholarship.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Applicant must submit a scholarship portfolio reflective of their work at Arkansas State University.

Nominee submission

1. A personal statement (maximum length: 3 pages or 750 words) prepared by the nominee explaining the objectives of their research/scholarship project and the significance in lay person’s terms. The candidates should provide documents that emphasize the broad-based trajectory of their research and how it has or is expected to impact the discipline. The language of this section of the research statement and nomination letter should be understandable across the areas of work so that a generalizable appreciation for the value of the research can be appreciated by all reviewers, especially those outside the field. 
2. A copy of the nominee's complete curriculum vitae must be attached. It should list all the nominee's accomplishments including but not limited to critically reviewed papers, presentations, books, exhibitions, publications, lectures, broadcasts, monographs, and other forms of scholarly and creative activity or recognition (e.g., invited presentations, awards, honors) that clearly highlight the extent of peer reviewed work.
3. No more than four (4) letters from knowledgeable peers that can speak to the quality of the research and scholarly activities of the nominee; the strongest letters are those from colleagues in the field, but external to the College.  
   1. Note: Department Chair's and Dean's letters of support will be submitted by the college and do not have to be uploaded here.

College Review and Finalist Submission

1. The Department Chair will submit one nomination to their Dean no later than the deadline.
2. The Dean will submit one nominee from among those to submit to the Faculty Achievement Awards Committee for the Chancellor’s Medal for Research and Creative Activities.
   1. The nomination letter must indicate the significance (the nominee’s contribution to and impact upon their field of study), volume and quality of the nominee's research, scholarly or creative activity in such a way as to clarify the nominee's activities for individuals from other disciplines.
   2. The letter must show that a substantial amount of work has been accomplished with recognition given to the University. This work could include but is not limited to peer-reviewed publications, books, public presentations at major institutions nationally and internationally, major museum exhibits, and concert hall or theatrical performances. The letter should indicate an ongoing, stellar rise in notable accomplishments.
   3. The letter must demonstrate clear evidence of the national or international stature of the nominee's research, scholarly or creative activity. A complete listing of the evidence should be provided in the nominee's curriculum vitae, which must be submitted by the nominee.
   4. In areas where research, scholarly or creative activity grants and contracts are an important part of the research effort, there must be clear evidence that the nominee has been competitive for such grants at the national and/or international level. If possible, the importance of the grant and/or award should be stated.