DESCRIPTION

The appointment of Distinguished Research Professors at The University of Georgia is intended to recognize outstanding research or other creative, scholarly accomplishments and to provide the impetus for continuing high achievement. The title of Distinguished Research Professor will be awarded to those individuals who are academicians recognized for creative and original contributions to knowledge and whose work promises to continue to foster significant new creativity in the theoretical or applied sectors of the discipline, affirmable by recognition as national and/or international leaders in that discipline. Distinguished Research Professors are expected to serve the University through research, instruction, and University service. The specific responsibilities of the individual holding this title will be determined by the department head and the dean of the appropriate school or college.

Up to five individuals may be appointed each year as Distinguished Research Professors. Each will receive a one-time permanent increase in base salary of $7,000 in addition to a $5,000 account each year for a period of five years to be used in any appropriate way to support scholarship. Distinguished Research Professors will normally retain the contract appropriate to the discipline and college (i.e., 9-month or 12-month contract).

The award of the title of Distinguished Research Professor is a University-wide honor, and the intent is to ensure that only the very best of the faculty hold this title. Accordingly, there will be no limit on the number of individuals from any department or other academic unit who might simultaneously hold this title.

APPOINTMENT

Nomination – An individual may be nominated for a Distinguished Research Professorship by a group of at least five tenured faculty members, a department head, or a dean. All nominees must be at least ten years beyond the date of the terminal academic degree and must have the endorsement of the appropriate department head and dean. It will be the responsibility of the nominator(s) to assemble a full dossier on the nominee, including documentation of the nominee's extraordinary reputation among a broad segment of professional colleagues and evidence of past and expectation of continuing performance.

The dossier should contain a cover letter from the nominator(s) (3 pages maximum), the nominee’s curriculum vitae and four external letters from individuals with distinguished reputations in the area of specialization who can objectively evaluate the nominee's creative and scholarly contributions.
Evaluation of the Nominee – the dossier will be submitted to the dean of the college or school. The dean, by whatever review process deemed appropriate, will determine which nominations will be submitted to the Vice President for Research.

The Vice President for Research will convene a review committee. The committee members will select a chair. This committee will evaluate the nominees, and no more than five nominees will normally be recommended for Distinguished Research Professorships each year. Recommendations endorsed by the Vice President for Research will be forwarded through the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost to the President of the University. The Board of Regents is informed of the appointments.

Reappointments – Individuals holding the title of Distinguished Research Professor are not eligible for reappointment after the five year support period. The title may be retained provided that an evaluation review every five years indicates continuing outstanding research or creative, scholarly activities. The title will not be affected by any subsequent professorship award unless so desired by the individual.

TIMING

All nominations should be submitted to the appropriate dean no later than the last official workday in September. College and school nominations (seven copies submitted in manila folders) should be forwarded to the Vice President for Research no later than the last official workday in October.

The public announcement of the awards will be made after the March Board of Regents' meeting, with formal recognition at the annual Research Awards Banquet in March/April.

Policy Statement Adopted July 1999, for Appointment of Distinguished Research Professor.