By Marc Olivier Drouin |Staff Writer|
The Outstanding Professor Selection Committee invites CSUSB students to nominate the professor they think deserve the Outstanding Professor Award (OPA).
The OPA rewards a professor that is recognized for their excellence in teaching. This award is basically one of the biggest distinctions a professor can have in their career – this is like the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award of education!
Besides being considered a prominent professor, the selected faculty member also receives prizes; such as a $1,000 check and a $3,000 Faculty Professional Development grant for purposes of research and professional activities.
Moreover, the OPA winner will be recognized during his or her respective college graduation ceremonies.
The professor will also take part as a keynote speaker at the annual Phi Kappa Phi initiation and be one of the participants of the Golden Apple Award ceremonies, an event sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of the City of San Bernardino that recognize outstanding educators and support staff of the city major educational institutions.
The winner is also invited to represent the University at the Educational Roundtable.
Sadly, not every teacher is allowed to win the prestigious honor. In fact, the nominee must represent multiple criteria in accordance with the campus policy criteria FAM 520 the students must respect if they want to nominate a professor.
According to the Office of the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs the nominees should have been members of the University for at least six months, have a record of distinction in professional and service activities and have not been a previous winner.
With the committee now calling nomination, the question is: what’s made an outstanding professor? For student Dan Dube, “An outstanding professor is more than a good teacher. He or she is someone that goes beyond their profession, someone that cares about their students like if they were their own kids.”
For others, an outstanding professor can be someone that is a leading expert in their domain or someone that is very involved in various projects in order to make CSUSB even a better place to study.
Remember, students are the source of most nominations for these awards. After, the committee will inform the nominee of the nomination and carefully choose a winner – note that nominees can refuse to participate at the selection process.
This year, CSUSB will reward their 33rd Outstanding Professor since 1980. Among them, men and women from different field of studies.
Students have until Nov. 2 to nominate a teacher they think deserves the title of Outstanding Professor. They have to send their nominee to Janette Garcia by e-mail at jygarcia@csusb.edu or at AD-101.