Part V Faculty Awards
Faculty are at the core of what makes universities exceptional – our research, teaching, advising, mentoring, healing and service form the essential intellectual energy of Vanderbilt. Recognizing profound faculty contributions across these domains is an important aspect of our University’s culture and traditions.
The faculty awards described here are University-wide, or across schools in the case of the teaching awards. Other faculty awards are made within individual schools and colleges.
The Harvie Branscomb Distinguished Professor Award
The Harvie Branscomb Distinguished Professor Award is made to a full-time, regular faculty member without restriction as to age, rank, or school, for distinguished accomplishment in furthering the aims of Vanderbilt University.
In defining the character of the award, the original committee stated:
The purpose of the award should be to recognize, and thereby to encourage in others, that combination of talents and achievements that we identify as desirable in the University faculty member: creative scholarship, including accomplishment in the creative arts and artistic performance; stimulating and inspiring teaching that results in learning of a high order; and service to students, colleagues, the University at large, and society at large. The award should be made for the total contribution and not solely for notable accomplishment in any single or narrow aspect of University endeavor. Neither shall long service nor promise of future accomplishment be a prime factor in the selection.
The award was established in 1963 to honor retiring Chancellor Harvie Branscomb. It is endowed with funds contributed by members of the faculty. The winner receives a cash award of $5,000 an engraved silver tray, and official designation as Harvie Branscomb Distinguished Professor for one academic year. Announcement is made at the Spring Faculty Assembly. Members of the faculty are invited to submit nominations to the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate Consultative Committee reviews the nominations and makes recommendations to the Provost. Final selection is made by the Chancellor in consultation with the Provost.
The Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor Award
The Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor Award was created on the occasion of the retirement of Chancellor Heard in 1982. It is endowed with funds contributed by faculty, staff, and others.
The title is conferred upon a full-time faculty member, regardless of rank or school, for distinctive contributions to the understanding of problems of contemporary society. The purpose of the award is to encourage, recognize, and honor faculty members’ contributions to the analysis and solution of contemporary social problems, broadly construed. Contributions may take the form of teaching, writing, basic or applied research, and consultative or other forms of service. Announcement is made at the Spring Faculty Assembly.
The recipient carries for one year the title Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor, and receives a $5,000 cash award and an engraved silver tray. Members of the faculty are invited to submit nominations to the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate Consultative Committee reviews the nominations and makes recommendations to the Provost. Final selection is made by the Chancellor in consultation with the Provost.
The Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
The Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching
Two teaching awards are made annually at the Spring Faculty Assembly. They are the Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. Each recipient receives a prize of $5,000 and an engraved pewter Washington Camp Cup. Names of winners of the Madison Sarratt Prize are mounted on a permanent plaque in the Sarratt Student Center.
The Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching was established by the Board of Trust in 1964 and is supported by Living Endowment funds contributed by alumni. The Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching was endowed by the Ingalls Foundation of Birmingham, Alabama, in 1965.
Final selection for both awards is made by the Chancellor on the basis of nominations made online by undergraduates of all schools and colleges. Students are asked to rate a nominee according to the nominee’s concern for an individual student’s learning, the organization and engagement of classroom presentation, the clarity and fairness of criteria for awarding grades, and accessibility and helpfulness outside of class.
The Thomas Jefferson Award is made annually “for distinguished service to Vanderbilt through extraordinary contributions as a member of the faculty in the councils and government of the University.”
The award is presented by the Chancellor at the first meeting of the Fall Faculty Assembly, which officially begins each academic year. The prize carries with it an engraved pewter goblet and $5,000.
The recipient is named by the Chancellor on the basis of nomination of the Consultative Committee of the Faculty Senate. Faculty members in all schools are eligible. The Thomas Jefferson Award is endowed at several universities by the Robert Earl McConnell Foundation. It was first established at the University of Virginia in honor of that institution’s founder. It has been presented at Vanderbilt since 1967.
The Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research
The Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research was established by approval of the Board of Trust at its spring meeting of 1976.
The recipient is chosen annually by the Chancellor in consultation with the Provost, on the basis of nomination of the Faculty Research Awards Review Committee. The competition is University-wide. The prize consists of $10,000 and an engraved pewter julep cup, and the winner’s name added to a silver bowl following a famous design by Paul Revere. The recipient keeps the bowl for a year. Announcement is made during the Fall Faculty Assembly.
The Joseph A. Johnson, Jr., Distinguished Leadership Professor Award recognizes faculty leadership in equity, diversity, and inclusion. It is awarded at the Spring Faculty Assembly to full-time, regular faculty member for distinguished leadership at Vanderbilt University. In 1954, Johnson became the first African American to earn a Vanderbilt degree, the bachelor of divinity. He also was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree, the Ph.D., in 1958. Established in 2016 by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos, the Johnson Award recognizes a faculty member whose contributions to the university have enhanced equity, diversity, and inclusion in the university’s academic endeavors. It recognizes, and thereby inspires in others, initiatives related to diversity and inclusion in the university community, and efforts to support equity for faculty, students, staff, and alumni. The winner will receive a cash award of $5,000, an engraved silver tray, and official designation as Joseph A. Johnson, Jr., Distinguished Leadership Professor for one academic year.
Members of the Faculty are invited to submit nominations to the Faculty Senate. The Consultative Committee will review nominations and make recommendations to the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Final selection will be made by the Chancellor in consultation with the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The announcement will be made at during the Spring Faculty Assembly.
The Chancellor’s Cup is given annually for “the greatest contribution outside the classroom to undergraduate student-faculty relationships in the recent past.” The faculty member’s contribution “shall be one of educational importance, relevant to the central purpose of the University.”
Established by the Nashville Vanderbilt Club in 1963, the award is presented by the President of the Club during the Homecoming activities in the fall. The award consists of a cash prize of $2,500 contributed by the Club, an engraved pewter julep cup as a permanent trophy, and one year’s custody of a silver bowl by Tiffany bearing the names of all recipients since 1963.
Full-time faculty in all schools who are actively engaged in undergraduate teaching are eligible. Selection is made by the Chancellor on the basis of recommendations submitted by Mortar Board, Omicron Delta Kappa, deans of the undergraduate schools, and administrators in the Office of the Dean of Students.
The Alumni Education Award is given each year to a faculty member who has contributed substantially to developing or participating in those programs of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association that further the education of alumni. Any full-time faculty member actively engaged in teaching in any of the schools or colleges is eligible.
Final selection is made by the Chancellor on the basis of a recommendation from the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association. The Education Committee of the Association is responsible for initiating the nomination. Nominations are solicited through the Vanderbilt Magazine, through Vanderbilt clubs, and from various active participants in alumni programs.
The award consists of a prize of $2,500 and an engraved julep cup. It is presented at the spring meeting of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. The first recipient was named in 1982.
The Chancellor’s Award for Research
The Chancellor’s Awards for Research recognize excellence on the part of faculty for published research, scholarship, or creative expression. The awards will be given for works presented or published in the preceding three calendar years. Up to five of these prizes may be awarded each year. Unlike the Sutherland Prize, which is awarded for lifetime achievement in research, the Chancellor’s Awards for Research recognize excellence for research published during a given year. All full-time faculty members are eligible for these research prizes. Works by research teams (two or more faculty) at Vanderbilt are also eligible for consideration. The team would be a single nomination and would share the award.
The Faculty Research Awards Review Committee, chaired by the Vice Provost for Academic and Strategic Affairs, will review all nominations and then make recommendations to the Provost who in turn will forward final recommendations to the Chancellor. The award consists of a prize of $ 2,000 and an engraved pewter julep cup. It is presented during Fall Assembly.
The Chancellor’s Awards for Research on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
These Chancellor’s Awards for Research will recognize excellence in research, scholarship, or creative expression that advance our understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion. The awards will be given for works presented or published on these topics in the preceding three calendar years. All full-time faculty are eligible for consideration Furthermore, research teams (two or more faculty) at Vanderbilt are also eligible for consideration. The team would be a single nomination and would share the award.
The Faculty Research Awards Review Committee, chaired by the Vice Provost for Academic and Strategic Affairs, will review all nominations and then make recommendations to the Provost who in turn will forward final recommendations to the Chancellor. The award consists of a cash prize of $ 2,000 and an engraved pewter julep cup. It is presented during Fall Assembly. The first recipients were named in 2016.
The Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor Award
The Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor Award was created to honor Chancellor Wyatt upon his retirement in 2000. The award is intended to recognize accomplishments that span multiple academic disciplines.
The title is conferred upon a full-time faculty member, regardless of rank or school, for the development of significant new knowledge from research or exemplary innovations in teaching. The announcement is made at the Spring Faculty Assembly.
The recipient carries for one year the title Joe B. Wyatt Distinguished University Professor and receives a $5,000 award and an engraved silver tray. Members of the Faculty are invited to submit nominations to the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate Consultative Committee reviews the nominations and makes recommendations to the Provost. Final selection is made by the Chancellor in consultation with the Provost.