Membership

Nomination Criteria

The UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers (UTSADT) focuses on a commitment to leadership and mentorship in teaching excellence and student success in the classroom and beyond that is centered on innovation, collaboration, and action-oriented advocacy. Reviewers will consider the following:   

  • Interest and intended contributions as active members of UTS ADT, specifically the larger vision of how we impact students and how teaching/education are valued 
  • Implementation and documentation of the impact of continuous improvement (whether successful or not) of innovative and research-informed teaching and learning practices that support student learning and success in the classroom and beyond  
  • Commitment to and collaboration on action-oriented advocacy efforts on teaching effectiveness through thought leadership, faculty development on teaching, and student success initiatives

Each academic institution is invited to submit the names of two nominees to the UTS ADT applicant pool: one (1) tenured/tenure-track nominee and one (1) non-tenure-track nominee. Tenured/Tenure-track and non-tenured/tenure-track faculty applicants will be evaluated using the same rubric but they will be reviewed in separate applicant pools. 

UTSADT represents all undergraduate academic campuses in the UT System. We welcome applications from faculty from all backgrounds, ranks and disciplines employing the best teaching and learning practices. Admission to the UTSADT is highly competitive. All of the nominees whose files are submitted demonstrate excellence in teaching as awardees of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. Unfortunately, we are limited in the number of new fellows we are able to admit each year.  The selection committee will evaluate submitted materials using the rubric provided.  We look forward to reviewing your application materials as outlined below.

 

Application Materials

New members are selected from among recipients of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards (ROTA). The applicant should submit the following: 

  1. ADT membership application form
  2. Nomination letter from President or Provost (or an administrator delegated authority to write such a letter, including a College Dean, Department Chair, etc.) or current ADT member
  3. Nominee's statement of interest, considering the guiding questions and the evaluation rubric (two-page limit).
  4. Teaching philosophy that incorporates recent innovative teaching projects from the past three years (three-page limit). Guidelines for the teaching philosophy can be found here.
  5. A list of significant updates/addenda since the ROTA application, especially if the ROTA was awarded two or more years ago (two pages)

 

Statement of Interest Guiding Questions

  • Why are you interested in Academy membership? What do you intend to contribute as an Academy member to enhance effective/innovative teaching?
  • Please describe your academic track workload (e.g., teaching, administrative, research, service) and how long you have been in that position. How have you contributed to teaching efforts included within the context of your designated responsibilities and outside of your designated responsibilities?
  • How have you engaged in continuous improvement of innovative and research-informed teaching strategies (whether successful or not) and what impact have these efforts had on student learning and success?
  • How have you contributed to action-oriented advocacy for teaching effectiveness within your department, college, and/or institution? Specifically, in what ways have you been a participant, leader, and collaborator in initiatives on faculty development and student success? What has been the impact of these initiatives on faculty members’ enhanced teaching practices and student learning/learning outcomes?  

The pdf document should include appropriate bookmarks for each of the nomination sections in the order listed above. The initial view in document properties should be set so that bookmarks are immediately visible when opening the document. This can be accomplished in Adobe under Properties, Initial View, and then by selecting Bookmarks Panel and Page under the dropdown list in the Navigation tab.

Nominations should be submitted via email to Mr. Weston Rose (wrose@utsystem.edu), Program Manager in the Office of Academic Affairs. If the file is too large to submit as an attachment to an email, please include a link to a cloud storage space, such as OneDrive. Please ensure that your cloud storage hyperlink is open to anyone who accesses it. Often, Box or DropBox files are not accessible to UT System staff.

Institutions may contact Mr. Rose (wrose@utsystem.edu) for questions regarding the nomination process. For questions regarding the materials to be submitted, please contact any of the UTSADT Fellows at your institution.

The selection process will be conducted in early spring and applicants will be notified of the Academy's decision in April 2024.

All application materials are due to Mr. Rose no later than Monday, March 17, 2025.

 

UTSADT Current Members & Email Contacts

 

UT Arlington

UT Austin

UT Dallas

UT El Paso

UT Permian Basin

UT Rio Grande Valley

UT San Antonio

UT Tyler