Boston University Medical Campus
Office of Medical Education

CFA Educator of the Year Award

GUIDELINES
2010 CFA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS
in PRE-CLINICAL SCIENCES
CLINICAL MEDICINE
GRADUATE SCIENCES

In 1999, the Committee on Faculty Affairs (CFA) of Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) determined that the many excellent educators on the faculty of BUSM deserved recognition for their dedicated efforts to educate the students of BUSM at the highest level possible. Furthermore, the CFA determined that such recognition was most relevant if initiated by the students and affirmed by faculty peers. The “CFA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR” awards were established to recognize, honor and reward BUSM faculty who give special effort to ensure the best education for BUSM students.

Awards will be given annually to outstanding educators in the areas of 1) pre-clinical medical sciences, 2) clinical medicine, and 3) the graduate sciences at BUSM. The recipients should be characterized by their excellence in teaching, mentoring and/or devotion to students.

Eligibility:
All BUSM faculty who teach in any course or courses in the three areas identified above are eligible for these awards.

A CFA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR award cannot be given to a faculty member two years in sequence (regardless of the course or area of instruction previously recognized). Nominees who have never won an EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR award will have an increased level of eligibility provided that all else is equal.

A faculty member cannot win more than one CFA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR award in a given academic year.

These awards will be separate from any other teaching awards. That is, a member of the faculty could receive a CFA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR award in addition to other BUSM awards during the same year.

There will be only one CFA EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR award/teaching area (see above) per annual graduation.

Nominations:
Nomination forms will be made available in the Spring semester (It is recognized that the schedules for the various areas of instruction do not always coincide). Nominations will be sent to the Chairperson of the CFA to be held until that year’s Award Committee has been empowered. Nominations will be accepted from all BUSM medical students and Division of Graduate Sciences students. Each student may nominate only one faculty member in a category.

Composition of Award Committee:
The Award Committee will be composed of two faculty and one student from each of the following areas of instruction: 1) pre-clinical medical sciences, 2) clinical medicine, and 3) the graduate sciences. Award winners of the previous year will be automatically invited to participate on the Committee. The remaining faculty members will be selected to serve on the Committee at a meeting of the CFA. The Chair of the Committee will be selected from amongst the six faculty members at the same meeting of the CFA. Student representatives will be selected by the Chairperson of the Award Committee (generally based on first response to a call for volunteers).

Evaluation Criteria:
Nominations will be separated based on identified area of instruction. Recommendations for each area will be determined separately. The nominations will be evaluated and ranked based on a combination of the following criteria (highest priority listed first):

1. The quality of nominations as determined by weighted nomination forms.
2. The number of nominations.
3. Appropriateness within nomination category (nominated as researcher vs educator)
4. Other (including the proviso, a nominee who has never won an Educator of the Year Award will have an increased level of eligibility provided that all else is equal).

The Committee may seek additional information from appropriate course managers when necessary. The Award Committee will forward all recommendations to the CFA for final approval.

Awards and Presentations:
Each award will consist of a plaque (to be kept by the award recipients) and a check for fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500). Awards will be presented at graduation ceremonies by either the respective Dean or a representative of the CFA.

Time-line

Nominating forms will be distributed biannually at the end of each semester to students in the different award areas. Nominations made at the time of the Spring mailings will be eligible for Awards at the annual graduation ceremonies of the following year.

If you would like to nominate a faculty member for CFA Educator of the Year, please click here.