These awards were established in 1997 to honor distinguished teaching in the classroom and are presented to eight faculty members. Committees of peers in each college chose award recipients, each of whom receives a $1,000 award. The awards and certificates will be announced during the Faculty Honors and Awards Convocation Breakfast. Honorees are also presented with commemorative plaques during the UNO Alumni Association's Founder's Day Luncheon. (Click here for specific criteria.)

The Excellence in Teaching Award at the University of Nebraska at Omaha was established in 1969 to recognize superior efforts, dedication and exemplary conduct in the performance of the University's first task—the education of its students. Nominated faculty must have been employed by UNO for a minimum of three years. (Excellence in Teaching Information and Timeline)

The Distinguished Research or Creative Activity Award recognizes and honors preeminent achievement in research or creative activity by a faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

This recognized work should

• be of sufficient originality and distinction to merit attention at the national level or beyond;
• foster and enhance the quality of research and creative activity at the University; should to reaffirm the values of discovery, innovation, and fulfillment in scholarship and the arts; and
• make manifest to the public the University's commitment to and support of such accomplishment.

Any member of the Graduate Faculty whose primary home department is at UNO is eligible for the Award(s) for Distinguished Research or Creative Activity. An individual who has previously received the Award may become eligible again after five years on the basis of research or creative activity not used to support the previous award. Current members of the Selection Committee are not eligible. "Creative activity" includes not only those areas involving purely " original activities" but also the performing arts as well. (Click here for specific criteria.)

The Faculty Service-Learning Award recognizes a faculty member, either full- or part-time, who has experience with a service-learning course, who has been supportive of service-learning at UNO (through faculty-student presentations, teaching circles, mentoring faculty-students, and so on), and who has a thorough understanding and appreciation of community agency issues (i.e., professionalism and cultural competency). This award is coordinated by the Service Learning Academy. For more information, please contact Paul Sather at 554-3196 or psather@unomaha.edu

As the Policy for Honorary Degrees indicates, the following guidelines are suggested in selecting honorary degree recipients:

• Persons who have rendered distinguished service to the University
• Persons who have rendered distinguished service to the State of Nebraska
• Graduates, former students, or former employees who have achieved distinction
• Persons of high distinction, from this country or abroad, who are not necessarily associated with the University or the State

Honorary degrees shall not be awarded to active members of the University of Nebraska staff and may be awarded only in exceptional cases to retired faculty members or staff for career distinction achieved at the University of Nebraska.

Click here for criteria and nomination form[.rtf].

Faculty members who have been awarded named professorships over the last year are recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation. Professorship and chair selection are coordinated by the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. For more information, please contact Deborah Smith-Howell at 554-2262 or dsmith-howell@unomaha.edu. (Click here for specific criteria [.pdf].)

The Order of the Tower is awarded to individuals whose exemplary service and/or financial support have advanced the mission of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As the policy for the Order of the Tower indicates, the following guidelines are suggested in nominating individuals:

• Achievements of the nominee should have contributed significantly to the development of the University of Nebraska at Omaha or espouse the values of the University.
• Award can only be presented to those individuals who are not currently employed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Click here for criteria and nomination form [.rtf].

The mentoring award, presented by the UNO Office of Graduate Studies, was created to recognize individual faculty who place a high value on and excel in mentoring graduate students. It is accompanied by a cash award of $1,500. Nominees must be tenured members of the graduate faculty currently teaching at UNO who have:

• Been active in graduate education for a significant period of time and established a record of excellence in mentoring graduate students,
• Demonstrated success in socializing students in their chosen profession,
• Demonstrated the ability to place students, and
• Had his or her students perform well professionally after graduation.

This $1500 award recognizes individual faculty who place a high value on and excel in mentoring graduate students. (Click here to view criteria.)

Two Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Awards are presented each year in honor and recognition of meritorious and sustained records of excellence in teaching and creativity related to teaching to two full-time faculty members of the University of Nebraska. Both awards may be made to the same campus in a given year.

The recipients are honored at an award luncheon in the Spring and each are awarded $3,500 and an award medallion and plaque. Eligibility faculty members who have served full-time at the university for at least five years are eligible. Nominees are eligible for three consecutive years and must be resubmitted by the campus each year. At the end of three years, a one-year waiting period is required before a nominee is eligible to be nominated again. Each resubmission should be accompanied by one new letter of support. Self-nominations are acceptable.

An individual who has received the award will be known as a Distinguished Teacher Ad Perpetuum and is not eligible for renomination for the award. (Click here for specific criteria.)

The UNO Honors and Awards Committee strive to select honorees who reflect the diversity and excellence of our faculty and staff. It can do so only with your help in the nomination process. Please take a moment to reflect on people with whom you work and appraise their merit as Chancellor's Medal nominees. Many staff and faculty in our academic community provide contributions and services that are valued and should be recognized. Nominations should be submitted to the chairperson of the UNO Honors and Awards Committee by November 1.

Click here for criteria and nomination form [.rtf].

A Dean's Award is presented to an outstanding undergraduate student in each college offering undergraduate degree programs at UNO. The Dean's Award is based on a combination of outstanding scholastic achievement and demonstrated leadership on campus and in the community. The recipient is selected by the Dean from among the Undergraduate Major Honorees. The award consists of a $100 and an appropriate plaque. The recipient's name is included in the convocation program.

This scholarship is presented yearly to two graduate students during the UNO Student Honors Convocation. The graduate recipients must have completed at least 18 hours of graduate work with a GPA of 3.75, demonstrated an excellence in performance, and have no outstanding incompletes ("IP" grades on thesis/dissertation are allowed) at the time of nomination. Nominations may be submitted by faculty members, students, or administrators; nominators should be working with graduate students and be able to assess their performance in academic and professional roles. Both part-time and full-time graduate students are eligible for these awards. Nominees may not have graduated prior to the spring semester in which the award is presented. The recipients' name and brief biography are included in the convocation program.

For complete information regarding the application process, please contact Nicole Kersten, Assistant to the Dean, at nkersten@mail.unomaha.edu or 554-2344.

All nominations should be submitted to the student's Graduate Program Committee who will select qualified nominees and documentation to the Graduate Scholarship/Fellowship Committee via the Graduate Studies Office. After the Graduate Scholarship/Fellowship Committee selects the two recipients, the Graduate Studies Office will forward the names and vitas of the honorees to Christine Hoffman.

Presented to a student athlete who has completed a minimum of 91 semester credits with at least a 3.5 cumulative gpa. Honorees are also selected on the basis of academic and athletic achievement, in addition to their contributions to the university and the community. Nominated student must be currently enrolled.

For complete information regarding the application process, please contact Trev Alberts, Athletic Director, at trevalberts@unomaha.edu or 554-3389.

The Senior Vice Chancellor's Award is presented to an outstanding undergraduate student at UNO. Selection of the recipient is based on a combination of outstanding scholastic achievement and demonstrated leadership on campus and in the community. The recipient is selected by the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs from the Dean's Award recipients. The award consists of $100 and an appropriate plaque. The award is presented at the annual Student Honors Convocation. The recipient's name is included in the Convocation program.

The Senior Vice Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Leadership recognizes an undergraduate student who has demonstrated exemplary leadership through influential participation in campus organizations and community volunteer work, in addition to scholarly achievement.

This award is organized by SOLP. For complete information regarding the application process, please contact Barb Treadway, Director, Student Organizations and Leadership, at btreadway@mail.unomaha.edu or 554-2711.

The nominator's recommendation letter needs to be completed and returned with the nomination form to the Student Organizations and Leadership Programs Office.

The Service-Learning Award recognizes a student enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate service-learning courses who demonstrates a thorough understanding of reflective practice techniques in coursework, provides service for a community agency in an outstanding manner, establishes and maintains an excellent relationship with the community agency, and embraces the philosophy of service-learning and community service.

For complete information regarding the application process, please contact Paul Sather, Director, Service Learning Academy, at psather@mail.unomaha.eduor 554-3196.

Honorees are selected on the basis of academic achievement in addition to their contributions to the university and the community. Minimum 3.3 GPA required. (Honors Honoree Form - Senior Vice Chancellor's Awards, Dean's Awards, Department Awards [.docx])