Nominations Due: Wednesday, October 4th by 4:30 pm.

Application Materials Due: Wednesday, October 18th by 4:30 pm.

William L. Bucknall Excellence in Teaching Award Description

A $25,000 award supported by former University of New Haven Board of Governors Chair and distinguished alum Bill Bucknall ’63 A.S.,’65 to recognize exemplary teaching by full-time faculty at the University. Recipients will be recognized for outstanding instruction both inside and outside the classroom. Evidence of engaged teaching practices should be demonstrated throughout the recipient’s teaching portfolio, and a progressive record of leading high-impact experiential activities with students outside typical instructional settings is also required. Faculty scholarship and service performance should meet or exceed departmental expectations for promotion in rank. 

The $25,000 award will be distributed as a $15,000 one-time payment to the award winner soon after the award event that will take place in November 2023, with a $10,000 budget provided during the 2024 calendar year to cover expenses related to professional development (e.g., conferences or workshops), teaching and research expenses/resources (e.g., classroom supplies, student field trips, guest speaker travel expenses, equipment, software or other technology for teaching, or a stipend for a teaching assistant), or other expenses related to innovative teaching practices or assessment. 

The last three recipients were Bruno Barreto de Góes in 22-23, Kristine Horvat in 21-22, and Patrick Rivers in 20-21. Please consider nominating a colleague or yourself for this prestige award.

Attached is a list of required application items.

Award Criteria

• Applicants must be full-time faculty members who have completed at least two years (four semesters) of full-time service at the University.
• Applicants should demonstrate evidence of innovative approaches to teaching both inside and outside the classroom that encourage students to apply classroom theory to real-life situations.
• Applicants should be recognized by peers and students for outstanding instruction and have an overall record of performance that meets or exceeds expectations for their rank as outlined in departmental elaborations.
• Applicants must be willing to share student course evaluations, course syllabi, and sample materials as evidence of engaged teaching methodologies and be prepared to articulate how they evaluate the impact of their teaching practices on student learning.
• Applicants must demonstrate involvement in the development of new programs, courses, activities, or media/approaches for learning.
• Applicants must commit to sharing their teaching practices via submissions to teaching and learning journals or conferences and at University of New Haven campus workshops.
• Applicants will be expected to support the efforts at the University to advance high-impact experiential education through activities that are appropriately matched to their strengths.

Nomination Process

Self and peer nominations must be submitted via email to the Center for Teaching Excellence cte@newhaven.edu by 4:30 pm, Wednesday, October 4th.

What happens next?

Upon receiving a nomination, the CTE will thank the nominator and send a separate email to the nominee. The email to the nominee will include a request to confirm that they will/will not apply, the list of required items, a link to the application form, and submission instructions. The deadline to submit application items is Wednesday, October 18th at 4:30 pm.

Selection and Campus Announcement

A committee reviews the materials, with membership consisting of the college deans, an administrative staff member appointed by the provost who works closely with faculty on instructional matters, and the previous year’s recipient of the Bucknall Award. The committee will review the applicants’ submissions for consideration and rank the applicants for review by the provost and the president. The recipient will be named in November and recognized at a campus reception.