The Burch, Jacobs & Moore Diversity Teaching Excellence Award was established to recognize faculty from across the University whose teaching advances/encourages inclusive excellence within the Grand Valley community. The award is named for the first graduates of color at Grand Valley who completed their studies in 1967: Joan Burch, Annie Jacobs, and James Moore. This award also celebrates the ways in which Grand Valley values inclusiveness as a significant part of the University’s fabric. Below are details about the criteria for the award as well as a description of the supporting materials required for all nominees.

Nomination Form

CRITERIA

This award is based on the following criteria, which are not ranked by order of importance, nor exclusive:

• The nominee’s teaching demonstrates a commitment to diversity and provides clear support of inclusion
• The nominee contributes substantially to the climate of inclusion at the University. This involves the extent to which the nominee’s teaching activities have fostered awareness about diversity issues and/or promoted cultural competence
• The extent to which the nominee’s teaching activities have advanced a campus environment that is welcoming and supportive of differences (i.e. cultural, ethnic, racial, class, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, language, and persons with disabilities, etc.)

Examples of contributions include:

• The development and implementation of effective strategies for teaching that advance the understanding of underrepresented groups through classroom instruction
• The development, design, and completion of a campus program or workshop on a topic tied to inclusion
• Creating a new course (set of courses) that concentrates on diversity and inclusion issues
• Implementing curriculum modifications that incorporate multiple perspectives representing diverse voices
• Use of culturally-based pedagogical best practices that influence how students learn

Award Nomination Guidelines

Past Recipients

SUPPORTING MATERIALS

1. Nomination Cover Sheet
    
2. Three artifacts
   • Description of Teaching Excellence
     • Statement authored by the nominee, emphasizing pedagogy and reflection on teaching experiences over time (1-2 pages in length)
       
       For Library Faculty, Description of Professional Excellence - Statement authored by the nominee, emphasizing reflection on professional practice over time. This includes teaching and/or support for teaching (1-2 pages in length)
        
   • Sample teaching material
     • Carefully selected item that best represents teaching excellence. Examples include: syllabus, assignment, project guidelines, teaching tool, self-authored learning object
        
   • Evidence of impact on student learning
     • A single item demonstrating impact on student learning. Examples include: student evaluations from a course, peer observation report, or student project sample (shared with permission)
        
3. Three letters of support
   • Two letters of support from faculty colleagues
   • One letter of support from a student (current or past)
      

Please note: no additional materials beyond these items will be accepted.