Open to College Research Professors, College Professors, College Lecturers, this award recognizes excellent contributions toward teaching and learning, broadly defined.
Each recipient will be presented with a plaque and a monetary award of $500.00.
Eligibility and criteria
Any individual who is a member of the UGFA at the date of nomination and is a College Research Professor, College Professor, or College Lecturer is eligible for the Award. A member may receive the Award only once.
Nominated individuals shall have demonstrated excellent performance in any of the following areas of teaching:
- Classroom instruction, including lecturing, small-group teaching, and laboratory instruction;
- Consultation with students outside of class, including individual tutoring; advising, extra-curricular leadership
- Course design
- Curriculum development
- Production of educational materials, including textbooks, manuals, films, and study guidelines
- Development of programs to improve teaching
- Development of innovative teaching methods
While there are no fixed criteria for selecting award winners, preference is normally given to nominees who
- Have been successful in several areas
- Have letters of support from more than one constituency
- Are judged to be “truly excellent” rather than merely “very good”
- Appear to have had an effect upon student learning or cognitive development, rather than merely being popular with students or colleagues
Nominations
Nominations may be made by students or any member of the University of Guelph community. Please send all materials related to the nomination to UGFA at facassoc@uoguelph.ca.
Notifying of intent to nominate
Inform UGFA of your intent to nominate a College Professor for an award. Include the following information in your email:
- Name of the nominee
- Course(s) or recognition area
- Name and contact information of the nominator
Closing date for Nominations: January 30, 2026
Nomination packages
To facilitate the deliberations of the Awards Committee, each nomination package should include the following:
- Table of contents
- Signed Nominee Acceptance Form
- Tabs to separate and identify the various sections of the package
- Nominee’s CV, which should include professional practice, research & scholarship, and service
- Signed nominator’s letter. This letter summarizes the highlights of the nomination package, with special focus on areas of excellence as described under “Eligibility and criteria” above. This letter should represent the core of the case and offer a picture of where and with what priority the supporting documents fit in. Documents seldom speak for themselves; they are invariably more useful when summarized, abstracted, and explained by someone on the scene and familiar with the nominee.
- Letters of support from more than one constituency. The strongest letters address specific areas of excellence and the impact of the nominee. Letters must be current and prepared specifically for the UGFA Award nomination.
Closing date for Supporting Material: February 17, 2026
Past winners
2023: Jocelyn Smith
2022: Jennifer Campbell
2021: Lezlie Cunningham
2020: Paul Luimes
2010: Tracy Ross