Faculty and staff members can make nominations to their department head for the annual College of Ag/Montana Ag Experiment Station Awards of Excellence. The deadline for nominations for 2022-23 is March 29. 

Award Categories

The annual awards are as follows:

  • Meritorious Service Award
  • NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty
  • NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students (limit 1 nominee per department)
  • Transformational Teaching Award
  • Excellence in Research and Discovery Award
  • Impactful Outreach and Engagement Award

Past Winners

Meritorious Service Award

Transformational Teaching Award                             
2023: TBA 2023: TBA
2022: Susan Cooper, ARS 2022: Jennifer Lachowiec, PSPP
2021: Julia Dafoe, DRC 2021: Michelle Flenniken, PSPP
2020: Mike Ivie, PSPP 2020: Nick Fox, LRES

NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty

Excellence in Research and Discovery Award
2023: TBA 2023: TBA
2022: Sarah McCoski, ARS 2022: Carl Yeoman, ARS
2021: Jennifer Thomson, ARS 2021: Lisa Rew, LRES
2020: Ryan Thum, PSPP 2020: Eric Boyd, MCB

NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Graduate Students      

Impactful Outreach and Engagement Award
2023: TBA 2023: TBA
2022: Emma Kubinski and Eden Manuel 2022: Megan VanEmon, ARS
2021: Bryce Currey, Justin Gay and Marley Manoukian 2021: George Haynes, DAEE
2020: Sam Carlson and Joe Jensen 2020: Jeff Mosley, ARS

Award Descriptions and Criteria

Meritorious Service Award

Recognizes staff and professionals for their dedication and service to the College of Agriculture and/or the Montana Agricultural Research Station. The COA/MAES values service in its many forms, recognizing that are invaluable to sparking innovation and engagement and helps students, faculty, and staff be more effective in scholarship, teaching, and outreach/engagement.

Eligibility

All staff and professionals in the COA/MAES.

Selection Criteria

Evidence of service excellence and its contribution to scholarship, teaching and outreach/engagement within COA/MAES, which could include (but is not limited to) enabling excellence in a specific research project or a body of scholarly work, facilitating students and instructors to be successful inside and outside the classroom, ensuring highly effective communication and outreach/engagement with Montana communities and stakeholders, going above and beyond the scope of the nominee's position.

Nomination Criteria

Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:

  1. a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific meritorious service activities and their impacts (max. 2 pages);
  2. the staff/professional’s shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
  3. two letters (internal and/or external) describing the nominee's meritorious service within the COA.

Award Sponsor

MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station

(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)

Award Amount:$500

 

NACTA Teaching Award of Merit for Faculty & for Graduate Students

Recognizes emerging excellence in on-campus instruction, particularly for early career faculty. This award recognizes teaching that aims to transform the students and teacher for the better through innovation, discovery-driven education, exceptional student engagement, imparting skills relevant to the workforce, etc. Teaching encompasses a balance of classroom instruction, mentoring and professional development students and service to the profession depending on the faculty or graduate student’s appointment.

Eligibility

All tenure- and non-tenure track faculty in the COA/MAES. Graduate students in the COA.

Selection Criteria

Evidence of burgeoning excellence in teaching, which could include (but is not limited to) fostering student learning, enhancing critical thinking, stimulating creativity and engagement, increasing students' workforce skillset, providing innovative mentoring to students and/or peer instructors, demonstrating an aspiration toward professional development, developing curricula and/or teaching resources that move forward the teaching profession in the nominee's field. One faculty per college and one graduate student per department will be recognized.

Nomination Criteria

Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:

  1. a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s burgeoning innovative teaching activities (max. 2 pages)

Award Sponsor

NACTA and MSU College of Agriculture

Award Amount: 1 year NACTA membership ($100 value), Certificate signed by NACTA and COA leadership

 

Transformational Teaching Award

Recognizes on-campus teaching that transforms the students and teacher for the better through innovation, discovery-driven education experiences, exceptional student engagement, imparting skills relevant to the workforce, etc. Teaching encompasses a balance of classroom instruction, mentoring, and professional development of students and service to the profession depending on the faculty’s appointment.

Eligibility

All tenure- and non-tenure track faculty in the COA/MAES.

Selection Criteria

Evidence of innovative and transformative teaching, which could include (but is not limited to) fostering student learning, enhancing critical thinking, stimulating creativity and engagement, lowering barriers to effective instruction, increasing students' workforce skillset, providing superior mentoring to students and/or peer instructors, demonstrating a sustained aspiration toward continued professional development, developing curricula and/or teaching resources that move forward the teaching profession in the nominee's field or beyond.

Nomination Criteria

Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:

  1. a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific transformative teaching activities and their impacts (max. 2 pages);
  2. the faculty's shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
  3. two letters (internal and/or external) describing the nominee's contributions to transformative teaching within the COA.

Award Sponsor

MSU College of Agriculture

(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)

Award Amount: $1,000

 

Excellence in Research and Discovery Award

The Excellence in Research and Discovery award recognizes scientists who are national leaders in their area of research and whose research has made contributions in both moving forward their profession and improving the economy, society, culture, national security, public policy or services, health, the environment, and/or quality of life beyond the contribution to academia. Nominations can be made based on a single high impact discovery or a body of work that includes high profile, peer-reviewed publications, significant acquisition of extramural funding support, and lasting effects of the work on stakeholders outside the profession.

Eligibility

All faculty and research professionals in the COA/MAES.

Selection Criteria

Evidence of outstanding scholarship, which could include (but is not limited to) publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles in high-impact journals, grantsmanship and associated research, development of patents and subsequent adoption of technology, national and international recognition of research and discovery, a record of research significantly affecting the lives of Montanans and beyond.

Nomination Criteria

Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:

  1. a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific research project, program, or body of work and their impacts (max. 2 pages);
  2. the faculty's shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
  3. two letters (internal and/or external) describing the professional contributions and broader impacts of the nominee's research efforts.

Award Sponsor

MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station

(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)

Award Amount: $1,000

 

Impactful Outreach and Community Engagement Award

Recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated especially significant outreach/engagement achievements and/or an established and sustained body of outreach/engagement related to scholarly work. Outreach refers to effectively developing and delivering scholarship-based knowledge to individuals outside the university and professional communities of faculty, staff and students. Engagement involves a mutually beneficial two-way partnership characterized by collaborative efforts between the university (faculty, staff, and students) and outside communities. Nominations can be made based on a single or shorter-term but high impact activity or on a longer-term body of work. Nominations recognizing efforts that engage underrepresented communities are particularly encouraged.

Eligibility

All faculty and staff in the COA/MAES

Selection Criteria

Evidence of effective, innovative and/or sustained outreach/engagement programming and activities, which could include (but is not limited to) documented changes in knowledge and action by targeted stakeholders and communities, evidence of exemplary integration between scholarship and outreach/engagement programming, securing and affecting communities that have not traditionally been involved, lowering barriers to effective outreach/engagement, developing innovative programs that lower barriers to effective communication and/or increase participation by underrepresented communities, demonstrate efforts that go above and beyond the scope of the nominee's position.

Nomination Criteria

Nominations can be made by any faculty, staff, or student, and submitted to the nominee's department head. The award will be based on a nomination dossier (1 per department), which should address the selection criteria described above and should include:

  1. a departmental letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s specific outreach and engagement activities and their impacts and significance to the affected communities (max. 2 pages);
  2. the faculty's shortened CV (max. 3 pages);
  3. two letters (internal and/or external) describing the nominee's outreach and community engagement efforts and their impacts on improving knowledge and societal well-being for Montanans and beyond.

Award Sponsor

MSU College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station

(could change if award money is associated with a particular gift / endowment)

Award Amount: $500