Each year Bilkent
students and alumni have the opportunity to honor teachers who contributed exceptionally
to their academic and intellectual development and whom they feel are worthy of
recognition. Thirteen members of the Bilkent academic staff have been given this award
thus far:
How Are These Awards Given?
The procedure is nomination-based. Towards the end of the spring semester, a call for
nominations goes out to alumni and students. A nomination is made by filling out a
form which contains several questions. (see form for details WORD / PDF) asking
the nominator to substantiate the reasons for the nomination. To be eligible for
consideration, a nominee must
- currently be a full-time Asst./Assoc./Full Professor, Instructor, Language Instructor or
Lecturer
- have been teaching for at least two academic years, including the current academic year
and
- not have received the award in previous years.
The nominations are confidential and are submitted in sealed envelopes through the
department secretary's office or by dropping them in a 'ballot box' in the library. They
can also be submitted electronically through the university web by using passwords
personalized for this purpose.
Selection Process
Every year a new five-member committee is appointed from among the set of previous
winners of the award and university administrators (e.g. Provost or Vice-Rector for
Student Affairs). Nomination forms are read anonymously by each member of the committee,
who then evaluate the form. Selection depends on the stated reasons for the nomination and
not solely on the total number of nominations.
Once narrowed down to a shorter list of nominees, additional supporting material is
taken into consideration such as any nominations that were received in previous years and
a history of ratings given by students on the Course/Instructor Evaluation Form.
The number of awards given each year depends on the set of nominations and can vary
from year to year.
The recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award are announced in Bilkent News, the
university newspaper (see
most recent article). They are honored with a plaque at the university graduation
ceremony in June. Additionally, there is a monetary reward reflected in recipients'
salaries.
