University Annual Awards

Nominations for the 2025 awards are being accepted November 4, 2024 through December 9, 2024 by 5 p.m. Nominees will be notified and may find examples of the two page focused nomination narrative from past award recipients to assist them in preparing their own. Nominations remain anonymous unless the nominator wishes to inform the nominee.

• The Donald N. Dedmon Distinguished Teaching Professor Award, which recognizes and rewards outstanding teaching.
• The Distinguished Creative Scholar Award, which recognizes significant original contributions to the body of knowledge in academe and rewards contributions that have a significant impact on effective classroom teaching.
• The Distinguished Service Award, which was established to recognize faculty who have contributed substantial service to the University over a sustained period of time.
• The Distinguished Faculty Advising Award, which recognizes and rewards teaching faculty who excel in their role of academic advisors to undergraduate or graduate students.
• The Anna Lee Stewart Award for Contributions to Faculty Development, which recognizes faculty and staff who have contributed substantially to the professional development of their colleagues.
• The Award for Administrative and Professional Excellence, which recognizes administrative and professional faculty for distinguished leadership and/or superior service in their area(s) of professional activity within the university.

View all past award recipients.

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Donald N. Dedmon Distinguished Teaching Professor Award

The Donald N. Dedmon Distinguished Teaching Professor Award recognizes and rewards outstanding teaching at Radford University.

Eligibility
All full-time teaching and research faculty who have never received this award are eligible.

Criteria
Nominees must have an outstanding record of teaching at Radford University, be professionally active in their discipline, and be recognized by colleagues and students as thoroughly knowledgeable in the subject matter and current scholarship of their teaching discipline. They should be skilled and effective in the use of innovative and creative teaching methods. Their students should be challenged to think critically, to interrelate learning across disciplinary boundaries, and to initiate their own inquiries and lifelong learning.

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Distinguished Creative Scholar Award

The Radford University Foundation Distinguished Creative Scholar Award recognizes significant original contributions to the body of knowledge in academe. It also rewards contributions that have had a significant impact on effective classroom teaching.

Eligibility
All full-time teaching and research faculty who have never received this award are eligible.

Criteria
Nominees must have a sustained record of outstanding creative contributions to their academic discipline. Moreover, their scholarly work should have a significant positive impact upon their teaching. The significance of the work may be demonstrated through a broad spectrum of criteria. Examples include publications in prestigious journals that result in recognition by professional peers, commission of artistic compositions, invited performances before national audiences, awards by national or international professional organizations, and the promotion of dialogue among scholars in the field.

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Distinguished Service Award

The Radford University Foundation Distinguished Service Award was established to recognize faculty who have contributed substantial service to the University over a sustained period of time.

Eligibility
All full-time teaching and research faculty who have never received this award are eligible.

Criteria
Nominees must have provided service that significantly enhances the operations, academic climate and sense of community of the university. Service activities qualifying faculty for this award may take many forms including participation and leadership in university internal governance; advisory roles with student organizations and publications; significant participation in special department, college or university programs; student recruitment, volunteer fund raising; service to the student judicial system; promotion of positive alumni relations; and service to the external community that positively affects the university.

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Distinguished Faculty Advising Award

The Radford University Award for Distinguished Faculty Advising recognizes teaching faculty who demonstrate excellence in tending to their important responsibility of academic advising.

Eligibility
All full-time teaching and research faculty who have never received this award are eligible. Professional advisors and graduate students are not eligible for this award.

Criteria
Nominees must have an effective record of teaching and advising students at Radford University. They should have caring and helpful attitudes toward advisees and others and be willing and available to assist advisees when needed. They should effectively monitor students’ progress toward academic and career goals, and their advising should go beyond offering suggestions about which courses to take and which requirements need to be fulfilled. They should be knowledgeable about key Radford University academic policies and procedures. Nominees should be comfortable making referrals to campus support centers as needed. Learn more information about the qualities of good advisors.

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Anna Lee Stewart Award for Contributions to Faculty Development

The Anna Lee Stewart Award for Contributions to Faculty Development recognizes faculty and staff who have contributed substantially to the professional development of their colleagues. The purpose of the award is to recognize those faculty and staff who contribute in exceptional ways to the teaching and learning environment of Radford University.

Eligibility
All full-time teaching and research faculty, all administrative and professional faculty, and all staff who have never received this award are eligible.

Criteria
Nominees must demonstrate a sustained commitment to imparting knowledge, skills and techniques that their colleagues use to enhance the learning environment at Radford University. Nominees must have an outstanding record of helping faculty and/or staff learn strategies that encourage student learning and meet student needs. Faculty development may or may not be included in the recipient's job description. The goal of the reward is to recognize significant contributions to the learning environment at Radford University. Examples could include, but are not limited to helping orient and retain students, helping others learn new technology skills, sharing new teaching techniques, and presenting findings from research about teaching and learning.

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Award for Administrative and Professional Excellence

The Award for Administrative and Professional Excellence recognizes administrative and professional faculty who have a record of distinguished leadership and/or superior service in their area(s) of professional activity within the university.

Eligibility
All Administrative and Professional Faculty, who have never received this award are eligible. Teaching faculty are not eligible for this award.

Criteria
Nominees for this award should be classified as Administrative and Professional Faculty and have a record of distinguished leadership and/or superior service in their area(s) of professional activity within the university which may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• academic and/or professional advising
• distinguished execution of their assigned professional or administrative roles
• participation and leadership in university internal governance and management
• advisory roles with student organization and publications
• significant participation in special department, college or university programs
• student recruitment
• volunteer fund raising
• service to the student conduct board
• promotion of positive alumni relations
• service to external community that affects the university in a positive nature