Faculty and staff Awards

The College of Education and Human Development’s Faculty and Staff Awards were established to recognize our hardworking and dedicated employees, who make a difference in the lives of our students, and the schools, organizations and communities that we serve each and every day.

Thank you for all that you do.

Our Awards

The college has six awards that it gives annually to faculty or staff members, including two awards for teaching excellence, a research and creative achievement award, a staff award for innovation and impact, and two service and engagement awards (one faculty, one staff). Click below for award descriptions and nomination information.

Description

This award recognizes excellence in teaching through innovation, dedication to students and the science of teaching and learning, and commitment to equity and inclusion. Faculty at any point in their career can be nominated. Two teaching excellence awards are given annually: one to a full-time faculty member and one to a part-time or adjunct faculty member.

The two awardees will be chosen by the Awards Committee based on submitted materials, recent awardees and school representation. Spring nominees that are eligible for the President’s Outstanding Teaching Award will form the college pool for nominations to that campus-wide award.

Nominations

Nominations for this award will require a letter and supporting documents. Nominations may come from colleagues or faculty may self-nominate. The nomination letter should be no more than two pages in length and it should address the nominee’s strengths in relation to the award criteria. Nominations should also include one of the following four supporting documents that address the nominee’s strengths in relation to the award criteria: the nominee’s updated CV (2 pages, maximum), tenure document, latest post-tenure review or peer-review, or permission for the Awards Committee to access the nominee’s last 2 years of faculty activity reports.

Description

This award recognizes outstanding research and creative achievement by a full-time faculty member, which may take many different forms. Activity considered may include, but is not limited to: research and scholarly publications, presentations at conferences, success in obtaining external research funding, creative and innovative new developments in one’s field, and discipline-based as well as community-engaged research. The award may recognize both recent and cumulative effort. Nominations are accepted for faculty of any rank. One award is given annually.

Nominations

The Awards Committee will accept nomination or self-nomination letters that outline outstanding research and creative achievements. Additionally, the nominee’s updated CV must be submitted. Every program will be encouraged to submit at least one nomination per year. The committee will examine submitted materials and seek additional expertise on content, if needed.

Description

This award recognizes a staff member whose efforts make it easier for the college community to strive for excellence in teaching, research, service and outreach. Examples of innovative and impactful work could include incorporating new tools and systems for optimizing workflows, cultivating community partnerships, or leveraging emerging technologies to help the college work more efficiently. Recipients of the innovation and impact award will have demonstrated that their work on behalf of the college community increases the capacity for students, faculty, and staff to have their efforts positively contribute to the college’s immediate and long-term success. Any staff member (defined as classified, professional and other non-faculty positions) are eligible no matter their length of employment. Various forms of service can be recognized.

Nominations

The Awards Committee will accept nomination or self-nomination letters that outline the nominee’s innovation and excellence in service.

Description

The Faculty Service and Engagement Award recognizes outstanding service by faculty which may take many different forms. Activity considered may include, but is not limited to: Service to one’s professional field; within the college or university; to the state of Maine; and to other groups and partnerships in the local or broader community. The award may recognize both recent and cumulative effort. Nominations are accepted for faculty of any rank. One award is given annually.

The Staff Service and Engagement Award recognizes outstanding staff service, professionalism and excellence as well as service that creates broader positive impacts for the College of Education and Human Development. Some notable areas might include: Faculty and student support, workplace communication or climate, promoting the visibility of the college, or external partnerships. All college staff members (defined as classified, professional and other non-faculty positions) are eligible no matter their length of employment. Various forms of service can be recognized.

Nominations

The Awards Committee will accept nomination or self-nomination letters that outline the nominee’s service achievements. For the faculty award, the nominee’s updated CV must be submitted.

Past Recipients: College Awards

Click below for past recipients of our annual Faculty and Staff Awards, as well as recipients of awards that are no longer conferred.

  • Walter Abbott (2005-06)
  • Eric Pandiscio (2006-07)
  • Phyllis Brazee (2007-08)
  • Dianne Hoff (2008-09)
  • Gary Schilmoeller (2009-10)
  • Richard Ackerman (2010-11)
  • Gail Garthwait (2011-12)
  • Susan Gardner (2011-12)
  • Gary Schilmoeller (2013-14)
  • Ken Martin (2014-15)
  • Susan Bennett-Armistead (2015-16)
  • Craig Mason (2016-17)
  • Julie DellaMattera (2017-18)
  • Richard Ackerman (2018-19)
  • Sherrie Weeks (2020-21)
  • Ian Cameron (2021-22)
  • Sara Flanagan (2022-23)
  • Kathleen Gillon (2023-24)
  • Esther Enright (2024-25)
  • Joan Staffiere (2014-15)
  • Richard Young (2015-16)
  • Margo Brown (2016-17)
  • Phil Pratt (2017-18)
  • Renate Klein (2018-19)
  • Arianna Anagnostis (2021-22)
  • Jamie Treworgy (2022-23)
  • Trudy Eldridge (2023-24)
  • Ashlee DeTour (2024-25)
  • Susan Gardner (2012-13)
  • Richard Kent (2013-14)
  • Robert Milardo (2014-15)
  • Sandra Caron (2015-16)
  • William “Dee” Nichols (2016-17)
  • Elizabeth Allan (2017-18)
  • Shihfen Tu (2018-19)
  • Craig Mason (2021-22)
  • Timothy Reagan (2022-23)
  • Justin Dimmel (2023-24)
  • Sarah Howorth (2024-25)
  • Nikki Lewis (2024-25)
  • Mary Ellin Logue (2014-14)
  • John Maddaus (2015-16)
  • Elizabeth Allan (2016-17)
  • Shihfen Tu (2017-18)
  • Deborah Rooks-Ellis (2018-19)
  • William “Dee” Nichols (2020-21)
  • Ian Mette (2021-22)
  • Catharine Biddle (2022-23)
  • Lauren Jacobs (2023-24)
  • Janet Fairman (2024-25)
  • Roxanne Lee (2012-13)
  • Karen Keim (2013-14)
  • Pam Kimball (2014-15)
  • Phyllis Thibodeau (2015-16)
  • Vi Thai (2016-17)
  • Erin Straine (2017-18)
  • Janice Bacon (2018-19)
  • Amy Cates (2020-21)
  • Casey Kelly (2021-22)
  • Jo-Ellen Carr (2022-23)
  • Gail Agrell (2023-24)
  • Dominick Varney (2024-25)

The Mark R. Shibles Award, named for the former dean of the college and namesake of Shibles Hall, was established to recognize outstanding achievement by a junior faculty member, who showed great promise in their scholarship, teaching and service. Only faculty members with a rank of assistant professor or lecturer at the time of conferral were considered for this award. The recipients were:

  • Catharine Biddle (2016-17)
  • Deborah Rooks-Ellis (2017-18)

The Robert Cobb Distinguished Faculty Award was named for the former dean, who led the College of Education and Human Development for more than 30 years. It was meant to recognize outstanding achievement by a faculty member in scholarship, teaching and service over the course of their entire career up to that point. The recipients were:

  • Elizabeth Allan (2016-17)
  • Craig Mason (2017-18)

Past Recipients: University-Wide Awards

In addition to the college-wide awards given annually, several members of the college community have been honored with campus-wide awards given annually by the University of Maine. Below are some of the college’s past winners of university-wide awards.

Presidential Outstanding Teaching Award

  • Constance Perry (2001)
  • Sandra Caron (1998)

Presidential Public Engagement Achievement Award

  • Sandra Caron (2002)
  • Catharine Biddle (2023)

Presidential Research and Scholarly Achievement Award

  • Janice V. Kristo and Rosemary A. Bamford (2000)
  • Elizabeth Allan (2021)

UMaine Alumni Association Distinguished Maine Professor

  • Brenda Power (1999)
  • Sandra Caron (2019)

Awards Committee

The duty of the College of Education and Human Development Awards Committee shall be to review applications for the college’s annual awards, including but not limited to: the Teaching Excellence Awards, the Research and Creative Achievement Award, the Staff Award for Innovation and Impact, and the Dean’s Service and Engagement Awards. The Awards Committee will be composed of a minimum of three faculty members, ideally from different areas of the college community. Members cannot be considered for awards while serving on the committee. Members on the Awards Committee will serve a two year term, and can be re-elected one time for two concurrent terms. After a minimum of one term away, members may rejoin the committee. To support continuity and organization, terms of the committee will be rotated, so that at least one member is always serving in their second year.

  • Current Committee Members:
  • Daniel Puhlman, Assistant Professor of Family Studies (Chair)
  • Alicia Lacy, Assistant Professor of Athletic Training
  • Beth Hufnagel, Associate Professor of Science Education