The Office of the Provost invites nominations for the prestigious titles of Distinguished Faculty Rank, which are the highest ranks conferred by the 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.
Nominations are open for the following four Distinguished Faculty categories for academic year 2023-2024 (please see the 2022-2023 revised guidelines for additional information):
- 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 capped by enrollment]
- The Distinguished Teaching Professorship (DTP) recognizes outstanding teaching mastery at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional levels. [Number of DTP nominations capped by enrollment]
- The Distinguished Librarian (DL) recognizes transformational contributions in creating a new information environment and fostering information literacy.
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, the candidate’s sponsor should submit the following no later than the February 15, 2023 to The Office of the Provost (provost@potsdam.edu):
1. 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.
2. Curriculum Vitae (please note the particular requirements in the SUNY Guidelines, pg. 11).
3. One Internal Letter of Recommendation (i.e., an individual currently employed at SUNY Potsdam; letter no more than 5 pages)
4. One External Letter of Recommendation (i.e., an individual not currently employed at SUNY Potsdam; letter no more than 5 pages)
a. For Distinguished Professor nominations, the current CV of the author is also required.
b. For all other Distinguished ranks, a one- to five-page detailed description of the author’s stature is also required (to provide reviewers context for the recommendation).
For more information on Distinguished Faculty Rank, as well as the scope of each rank and criteria for consideration, visit the DFR website.
The campus Distinguished Faculty Committee will meet in early March 2023 to decide on the initial nomination and to make a written recommendation to the President. The committee chair, Edward Komara, will work with the candidate and their sponsor over the summer to prepare the Nomination Portfolio for submission to SUNY in early September. A call for nominations in September 2023 is planned, for processing during the 2023-2024 academic year. Nominators who find the February 15 deadline too close in time should plan for a September call. Ed Komara will be happy to advise regarding this.
Please contact the Provost’s Office (provost@potsdam.edu) or Ed Komara (komaraem@potsdam.edu) for additional information.