Editor’s note: The following message was sent to the CSU community this week by President Amy Parsons and Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Janice Nerger. 

Dear colleagues:

We are pleased to announce the call for nominations for University Distinguished Professors. The title of University Distinguished Professor is the highest academic recognition awarded by the University and is bestowed upon tenured, full professors on the basis of outstanding scholarship and achievement. Professors receiving this title hold the distinction for the duration of their association with Colorado State University.

Nominations may be submitted beginning Thursday, Sept. 21, and the deadline for receipt of nominations is Wednesday, Nov. 1. Please see the addendum below for submission criteria and requirements, and nomination instructions.

There are 22 current UDPs and 31 emeritus UDPs across 27 academic departments. New appointments to this title will be announced as part of the Celebrate! Colorado State Awards in Spring 2024.

We welcome and encourage nominations from all University disciplines so that the University Distinguished Professors represent excellence across the disciplinary breadth of the entire CSU faculty.

Thank you for your participation, and for your dedication to our mission of access and excellence in all you do.

Sincerely,

Amy Parsons
President

Janice L. Nerger
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs 

Call for Nominations

The Office of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the title of University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed to a CSU faculty member in the areas of research and scholarship. This title is reserved for CSU faculty who have demonstrated creative excellence and made major discoveries and achievements in their field.

Criteria:

Faculty members appointed as University Distinguished Professors will have records of performance ranking them among the most outstanding members of their disciplines. This should be reflected by their research, publications, exhibitions, artistic performance or other mode of accomplishment. Consistent with their accomplishments, past successful nominees have received major awards, prizes, honors and/or other forms of professional national and international recognition of their outstanding accomplishment in their areas of specialization, artistry or expertise, acknowledging that the criteria and the modes of recognition of excellence vary with discipline.

Submission requirements:

Any group of three or more faculty members may nominate a candidate who is an actively engaged tenured full professor. Nominations must be confidential and, to the extent possible, not revealed to the candidate. Nominations must include:

1. A nomination letter including a concise narrative statement (<1,000 words) interpreting the information provided in the context of the nominee’s discipline, and indicating why the nominee merits the title of University Distinguished Professor. Endorsement of the nomination letter with the signatures of the candidate’s department chair and dean is recommended.
2. A document of up to five pages listing all relevant accomplishments of the candidate. This should provide evidence of the impact of the nominee’s accomplishments, e.g., a record of highly cited publications; favorable mention in appropriate publications; receipt of honors, prizes, and/or recognitions; and contributions to building a leading program at CSU.
3. A document that includes the names, titles and contact information for three internationally recognized disciplinary peers cognizant of the significance of the nominee’s research. The nominator should provide a brief explanation of the relationship between the referee and the nominee and why the referee was suggested. The selection of referees should avoid those persons with a significant conflict of interest (former mentors or mentees, recent collaborators – within five years – or other reasons for recusal).
4. Letters from external references may not be included with the nomination packet; these will be requested separately as part of the selection process.

University-wide submissions are encouraged:

Nominations from all University disciplines are welcomed and strongly encouraged, so that the University Distinguished Professors represent excellence across the disciplinary breadth of the entire CSU faculty.

Deadline:

The deadline for the receipt of nominations is Nov. 1.

Nomination information and criteria, past and current recipients, and nomination instructions can be found at: https://provost.colostate.edu/university-distinguished-professors/

Nomination packets must be submitted through the CSU InfoReady System. Nominators can access the system using their NetIDs at the following link: https://colostate.infoready4.com/
Please locate the “CSU – University Distinguished Professor (UDP)” opportunity, and click on the title to open the opportunity information page.

Past nominations:
Applications submitted in the previous submission cycle will not be carried over. Nominations must be updated and resubmitted to be considered.