SBS Faculty Awards
SBS Dean's Fellowship Award
The Dean's Fellowship Award is given by the Dean to a junior or recently tenured faculty member to recognize extraordinary merit in research. The award includes the title "Dean's Fellow" and $20,000 annually in funding for a period of up to five years.
SBS Dean's Service Award
The Dean's Service Award is given by the Dean to a faculty or staff member in recognition of exceptional and extraordinary service, as well as a commitment to supporting the College's goals and mission.
The Nicola Mare Usher SBS Outstanding Advising Award
Application Deadline: March 21, 2025
The Nicola Mare Usher SBS Outstanding Advising Award was instituted in 2021 to recognize outstanding contributions to the SBS advising program and student success mission. In 2023, the award was named in memory of Nicola Mare Usher, a beloved Department of Communication academic advisor. Up to two awards will be granted each year. Recipients receive a $1,000 award and a plaque.
Members of the SBS Advising Network whose work involves academic or career and professional advising, or directly enhances the quality of SBS advising and our SBS Pathways model are eligible for nomination. Nominees must have been members of the SBS Advising Network for at least two years at the time of the nomination. Those who have received this award within the past five years are not eligible.
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SBS Outstanding Mentor Award
Application Deadline: March 21, 2025
The SBS Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes and encourages faculty who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to mentorship of students. The intent of the award is to celebrate faculty who have effectively guided students at UMass individually or more broadly through the creation of mentoring communities or building infrastructure for the mentorship of graduate students and/or undergraduate students. Award recipients will receive an award of $1,000 and a plaque. One award will be made each year.
Nominees must be faculty members at any stage of their career who fit the criteria described above. Nominators may recognize the many forms that mentorship can take. Some examples of mentorship include:
- Creating a respectful and supportive environment to help mentees move forward in their career, scholarship, and/or teaching goals.
- Helping mentees take full advantage of institutional, academic and professional opportunities.
- Embracing a philosophy of diversity and inclusion inside academia and a commitment to integrating mentees into the broader culture of the discipline.
- Demonstrating leadership and initiative at the program level to improve mentorship access and quality for mentees. Facilitating a mentorship community, whether formal or informal, that enhances or expands mentorship opportunities.
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SBS Outstanding Research Award
Application Deadline: March 21, 2025
The SBS Outstanding Research Award was introduced in the spring of 2016 and recognizes distinguished achievement in scholarship and research. Award recipients will receive an award of $1,000 and a plaque.
Tenure line faculty at all ranks are eligible for the award. Self-nominations are welcome, as well as nominations from faculty peers, Departmental Personnel Committees, and Department Chairs. The types of achievement envisioned should be within the last five years and include:
- The winning of a prestigious prize.
- Receipt of distinguished awards from one's peers.
- Receipt of a major grant.
- Noteworthy publications in the field.
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SBS Outstanding Teaching Award
Application Deadline: February 14, 2025
The SBS Outstanding Teaching Award was instituted in 1995 to augment the University Distinguished Teaching Award by recognizing a larger number of talented teachers within SBS. Candidates for the SBS Outstanding Teaching Award are nominated by their peers and selected by the SBS Outstanding Teaching Award Committee, which is comprised of past award recipients and a student, and is chaired by the Senior Associate Dean for Education and Student Development.
Each program in the college is invited to nominate one candidate for this award. The nominations are made by department personnel committees and/or department chairs. Any full-time faculty member who has been a member of SBS for a minimum of three years has who has taught at least two semesters before being nominated is eligible.
The programs are:
- Anthropology
- Communication
- Economics
- Journalism
- Landscape Architecture
- Legal Studies
- Managerial Economics
- Political Science
- Resource Economics
- Public Policy
- Social Thought and Political Economy
- Sociology
- Sustainable Community Development