Purpose
In recognition of the contribution that scholarly activities provide toward the attainment of academic excellence, each year one member of the faculty is acknowledged for having made a significant contribution to his or her discipline. The recipient of The Raymond Kennedy Excellence in Scholarship Award will be recognized at the annual Faculty and Administrator Reception and Awards Ceremony, and will address students, family members, and other guests at the Awards Ceremony.
Selection Criteria
Nominees should be able to document recognition by peers outside the College as having a consistent and significant record of scholarship and/or creative production, completed primarily while at Siena College.
Award Eligibility and Nominations
Eligible candidates include full-time associate and full professors, full-time non-tenure-track faculty of equivalent rank, and full-time library faculty of equivalent rank, who have served on the faculty for at least six years.
Nomination Procedures
- Deans, Department Heads or individual faculty members may submit a formal letter of nomination to the Kennedy Award Committee via the Faculty Support Office by the fourth Friday in October. This letter should highlight the evidence of a significant contribution to the nominee’s academic discipline. Letters should be concise (1-2 pages) and written for an audience outside the nominee’s discipline.
- Self-nomination is not permissible.
- Nominators must obtain permission of the prospective nominee prior to submission of the nominating letter.
- Committee members may neither nominate nor be nominated for the award.
- Members of the committee will recuse themselves if a nominee comes from their department and in case of any other perceived or possible conflict of interest.
- Previous honorees are not eligible for nomination.
- The Kennedy Award Committee will confirm the eligibility status of all nominees.
- The Provost and Senior Vice President will send a community announcement identifying and congratulating the nominees.
- Nominees will then be asked to submit to the Faculty Support Office:
- (9.1) An electronic copy of their CV, PDR, or Sedona file
- (9.2) The names (with e-mail addresses and phone numbers) of three potential outside reviewers from their own discipline
- (9.3) One copy of five examples that demonstrate a consistent and significant record of scholarship and/or creative works that have been completed primarily while at Siena College. The examples should illustrate the evolution of your scholarship over time, with 1-3 from within the past 5 years.
- (9.4) A one-page summary that answers the following questions for those not in the nominee’s discipline:
- What is the major focus of your scholarship?
- How does it fit into wider patterns and/or advance your field?
- How has it been recognized by your peers? (i.e., publication, performance, awards, grants, etc.)
- Any additional comments the nominee believes could be helpful to the committee.
- These documents should be received by the second Friday in December. Late documents will be returned to the nominee and not considered.
- The nominee’s Dean or Director of the Library will be asked to submit a letter of support and to contact an outside reviewer. The outside reviewer will be asked to write a letter evaluating the nominee’s work. A letter of support from a department chair or Siena colleague is also desirable. All letters should reach the Chair of the Kennedy Award Committee by the second Friday in February.
- The Kennedy Award Committee will review all materials and select the honoree by the first Friday in April. The Selection Committee will inform the Faculty Chair of its decision. The Faculty Chair will then notify the nominees of the committee’s decision.
Selection Committee
The Kennedy Award Committee will be comprised of two tenured faculty representatives from each School and one from the Library, for a total of seven committee members. Faculty representatives will be elected to three-year terms under the auspices of the Faculty Committee, with nomination from the Schools and election by the faculty as a whole. Each committee member must be from a different department. The Kennedy Award Committee will elect one of their members to serve as Chair.