The Office of the Provost invites nominations for the prestigious titles of Distinguished Faculty Rank, which are the highest ranks conferred by the SUNY System in recognition of outstanding professional achievements by SUNY's most accomplished faculty. Appointees are inducted into the SUNY Distinguished Academy, leveraging their expertise in support of SUNY's mission and strategic priorities. Please note that as part of SUNY's efforts to encourage greater recognition of SUNY faculty and grow the ranks of the Distinguished Academy, length of service requirements for DSP, DTP, and DL categories have been reduced to three years of on-campus experience. (All ranks continue to require five years at full professor/librarian rank. Eligibility requirements for DP have not changed.)
Nominations are open for the following four Distinguished Faculty categories (under revised guidelines as described below):
- The Distinguished Professorship (DP) recognizes national or international prominence through research and scholarship, or artistic performance and achievement.
- The Distinguished Service Professorship (DSP) recognizes a notable reputation for service to the campus and the State University, and to the community, state or nation. [Number of DSP nominations per campus determined by enrollment.]
- The Distinguished Teaching Professorship (DTP) recognizes outstanding teaching mastery at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional levels. [Number of DTP nominations per campus determined by enrollment.]
- The Distinguished Librarian (DL) recognizes transformational contributions in creating a new information environment and fostering information literacy.
Nominees must be a prior recipient of a Chancellor's Award in order to be eligible.
Self-nominations are not allowed for Distinguished Faculty ranks. Therefore, in order to complete the campus nomination process, you will need to work with the person you are nominating to acquire the required materials. The SUNY Guidelines will provide some insight into these materials; however, you will not be assembling the complete SUNY nomination portfolio prior to campus review.
To nominate, submit the following to the President's designee (Edward Komara, komaraem@potsdam.edu):
- Letter of Nomination (3-5 pages) addressing the criteria specific to the Distinguished Rank for which you are nominating this person. The letter must be on letterhead, signed by you, and submitted as a PDF via email.
- Curriculum Vitae (please note the particular requirements in the SUNY Guidelines
- One Internal Letter of Recommendation (i.e., an individual currently employed at SUNY Potsdam; letter no more than 5 pages).
- One External Letter of Recommendation (i.e., an individual not currently employed at SUNY Potsdam; letter no more than 5 pages).
- For Distinguished Professor nominations, the current CV of the nominator is also required.
- For all other Distinguished ranks, a one- to five-page detailed description of the nominator's stature is also required (to provide reviewers context for the recommendation).
For more information on DFR, as well as the scope of each rank and criteria for consideration, visit the DFR website
Please contact the President's designee, Edward M. Komara, Distinguished Librarian, at komaraem@potsdam.edu.