The Reid Miller awards are designed to commemorate Miller’s long and distinguished career in the College of Engineering and Architecture at Washington State University both as a faculty member and as its Dean. The awards are designed to recognize faculty who emulate Miller’s strong commitment to the quality of teaching in the college.
Lead: Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (Sivakumar)
The Awards
The annual Reid Miller Excellence in Teaching Awards will consist of $3,000 to be distributed in the following manner:
- $1,000 cash award
- $2,000 to support a project related to the quality of teaching
One award will be given to a tenured or tenure-track faculty member while the other will be given to a non-tenure-track faculty member.
Criteria for Selection
The following is a weighted list of criteria used to judge a nomination package. Along with this are suggestions to the nominator about how the particular criterion can be addressed in the nomination package.
- Knowledge of the subject (15%)
- Give titles of the nominee’s publications relevant to areas of teaching responsibility.
- In what respect does the nominee demonstrate capability, skill, and insight in his/her area of specialization?
- Effectiveness of teaching and relevance of material (15%)
- Explain how material is presented to achieve the goals set for the class.
- Explain how exams and quizzes are indicative of class lectures and reading materials.
- Explain how the nominee is clear in his/her presentation of subject matter.
- In what way do overall grade statistics reflect student understanding?
- In what way does the nominee stimulate and inspire students through teaching style?
- Organization and presentation of material (10%)
- Explain how the nominee’s lectures and handout materials are presented.
- Use of appropriate teaching methods (10%)
- Explain how the nominee uses pertinent and helpful examples to enhance the subject matter.
- Explain how teaching materials, ideas, and methods are updated to improve overall effectiveness of the class.
- Describe innovative methods that enhance student learning.
- Self improvement (15%)
- How are teaching seminars or other resources used to update and improve instructional techniques?
- Explain how course evaluations impact teaching from semester to semester.
- Other interactions with students (15%)
- In what way does the nominee advise student chapters and/or clubs?
- In what way does the nominee give seminars for students or participate in club activities?
- Explain the ways in which the nominee is available for personal or professional student consultation outside of lecture and office hours.
- Contributions to WSU teaching programs (10%)
- In what way has the nominee been involved in the creation of new courses or revision of existing courses to utilize new techniques or technology?
- In what way has the nominee contributed to curriculum revision?
- Contributions to the teaching profession (10%)
- List book and/or teaching article publications.
- List any teaching-related seminars or professional presentations given by the nominee.
- Describe the nominee’s contribution toward advancement of the teaching profession.
Procedures for Selection
Note: Previous winners of the award may not be nominated during the two years following their last receipt of the award. Faculty who have won the award previously and are nominated again will be judged on their record during the period between their previous award and the current year’s nomination.
Each School/Department (i.e., each unit) will be asked to nominate one tenured or tenure-track faculty member and/or one career track faculty member consistent with the two available Reid Miller awards. In addition to being acknowledged as a nominee for a Reid Miller award, each nominee from a specific unit will be considered to be the outstanding faculty member (tenured/tenure track or career track, as appropriate) for the nominating unit. Instructors who teach ENGR courses may also be nominated for a Reid Miller Excellence in Teaching Award (in which case the “unit” is considered to be the office of the Associate Dean for Student Success). The head of the unit or designee will hold the ultimate responsibility for the nomination(s) and the unit will determine the specific process for selection. Each nomination package must be accompanied by a cover letter from the head of the unit endorsing the nomination. The letter must address the impact of the nominee’s relevant contributions on the academic unit. The nomination packet must show strong support from students.
New in 2022: In addition to the five Pullman units (CEE, Voiland School of ChEBioE, EECS, MME, SDC), we will also seek nominations from School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS, Tricities) and School of Engineering and Computer Science (ENCS, Vancouver).
Format for the Nomination Package
A nomination packet should contain the following items:
- Statements of nominee performance relative to each criterion, accompanied by recent (last 5 years) data or other evidence (appendix materials) to support claims. These normally should include student evaluation summaries.
- Letters of support from both students and faculty who endorse the nomination.
- Current curriculum vitae for the nominee.
To ensure that the nomination packages be as uniform as possible, each program will be provided with a copy of the nomination package that was used for a previous College award winner.
The committee to select the winners of the Reid Miller Excellence in Teaching Awards will consist of the following:
- The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
- A faculty member chosen by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in consultation with the Dean of the College
- The previous year’s winners
- New in 2022: Five student representatives, chosen from the five VCEA Pullman units, SEAS (Tricities), and ENCS (Vancouver).
Recommendation for Subsequent Nominations
It is recommended that the winners of the Reid Miller awards be considered, as a matter of routine, for nomination for additional awards such as the ASEE Pacific Northwest Outstanding Teaching Award, the WSU Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction, or the WSU President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for Instructors and Clinical Faculty.