DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD

With the Distinguished Faculty Award (DFA), the Academic Senate recognizes excellence in a professor’s area of expertise including teaching, counseling, and work with students. It also considers good college “citizenship,” such as contributions to college life outside the classroom or primary service area as secondary criteria. Candidates for the DFA must have been at the college for at least ten years. The Senate has tried to recognize a variety of people in a variety of areas and for a variety of efforts. The recipient list includes great lecturers, people who have reached out to their students in exceptional ways, and people who have developed tremendous programs. The DFA was first conferred in 1987.

NOMINATION PROCESS

The award shall be given primarily for distinguished contributions to Glendale College in the recipient's discipline, though other professional responsibilities and accomplishments may also be considered. The award can be given to a faculty member from instruction or college services who has been here at least ten years.

The DFA committee relies on your nominations to make its selection. To nominate a colleague for the DFA, please write a short statement (200 words) explaining why your nominee should be considered for the award.

DFA Nomination Form

Who can send in a nomination?

Anyone, although the committees give much greater weight to nominations by faculty. The DFA used to ask for nominations by students before but with very limited success: one or two nominations a year, and it was impossible to determine how representative these were. Student opinion is better assessed through classroom evaluations, with which division chairs are usually familiar, or often through well-known word-of-mouth reputations.

Does a nomination with multiple signatures carry more weight?

Rarely. There have been over the years a few nominations that were the result of petitions or campaigns, but they have been received rather poorly: only once did the corresponding candidate get the award and that was in spite of the petition, not because of it. The reason is simple: neither award should be, or be seen as, a popularity contest or the result of political pressure from one group or the other. The best thing one can do for a favorite candidate is to send in a well-written nomination that explains clearly why that person is worthy. A single such nomination has more impact on committee members than the best organized campaign.

Do unsuccessful candidates need to be re-nominated each year?

Are nominations kept confidential?

Yes: DFA candidates are told that they have been nominated, but not by whom, and they receive a typed letter with excerpts from the nominations but without attribution. These letters have proven very rewarding and very encouraging to the candidates who can read there the good comments and feel the appreciation of their colleagues, and thus get some of the benefits of the DFA process even if they do not get the award. With the announcement of their nomination, the candidates are also asked if they will accept the award should they be selected; some of them have refused.