To Be Presented at the
Ohio Communication Association 74^thAnnual Conference
 Saturday, October 2, 2010
Clark State Community College - Springfield, Ohio

Interdisciplinarity, Interdependence, and Collaboration

Award Categories: 

• OCA Distinguished Teacher
• OCA Distinguished Coach
• OCA Distinguished New Teacher
• OCA Innovative Teaching
• OCA Distinguished Program
• OCA Distinguished Student Organization
• OCA Distinguished Service in Ohio
• OCA Distinguished Graduate Student
• OCA Distinguished Undergraduate Student

You are cordially invited to nominate outstanding communicators in the state of Ohio for recognition at the OCA Annual Conference October 3, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio.  All nominations should meet the criteria outlined below and provide documentation of outstanding service and commitment to the discipline.

GENERAL CRITERIA

1. All nomination materials must be emailed or postmarked by May 28, 2010.
2. All nominations should include the nominator and the nominee’s institutional affiliations, mailing addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
3. To be eligible, nominees for student awards must be enrolled at the time of nomination and must successfully finish the school term..
4. The number and types of awards presented each year are at the discretion of the OCA Executive Council.  Award decisions are based on the number of nominations received and quality of support provided for the nominations.

NOMINATION CRITERIA

Distinguished Teacher and Distinguished Coach Awards:  These awards are presented in recognition of excellence in teaching or forensics coaching. Nominations for the these awards must include the following:  (1) a brief cover letter describing why the nominee would be a deserving award recipient; (2) current curriculum vita for the nominee; (3) further evidence documenting the nominee’s competency and effectiveness as a teacher or a coach (letters/testimonials from colleagues, students, administrators, members of the community, etc).  All nominees must be living members of OCA and should have a record of active and continuous service to the organization.

Distinguished New Teacher Award:  This award recognizes promising new faculty who have demonstrated a consistent record of excellence in teaching.  Nominees must be in their first five years of professional teaching and have demonstrated overall effectiveness both in the classroom and through service to their department/campus.  Nominations for the Distinguished New Teacher Award should include a 1) brief cover letter describing why the nominee would be deserving of this award; 2) a letter of support from his/her immediate supervisor; 3) sample syllabi from courses taught; 4) a list highlighting service to campus/community; and 5) teaching evaluations showing the positive results/effects (include numerical ratings and comments) from the three most recent semesters/quarters.

Innovative Teaching Award:  This award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated notable innovations in teaching in their field of study.  Nominees can be at any rank of teaching and have demonstrated original and creative ways in covering a bold new area of study, an inventive approach to an existing course, or other original methods of teaching the field of study.  Nominations for the Innovative Teaching Award should submit a 1) brief cover letter describing why the nominee would be deserving of this award, explaining the innovative teaching method and accomplishments; 2) a copy of his/her syllabus, including course description, instructional materials, and assignments; 3) a letter of support from his/her immediate supervisor or peers; and 4) course/instructor evaluations from students showing the positive results/effects (include numerical ratings and comments) of the course/teaching method.

Distinguished Program and Distinguished Student Organization Awards: These awards recognize outstanding student organizations or communication programs in the state of Ohio. Nominate an outstanding organization or program by submitting: (1) a cover letter that establishes how the nominated program (department, curriculum, etc.) or student organization (radio/television, forensics, debate, model UN, moot court, PRSSA, NCASC, Lambda Pi Eta, etc) serves as a model for others in Ohio; (2) the name and contact information for the program/organization chair/advisor; (3) documentation of the group’s outstanding record of accomplishment.

Distinguished Service Award:  This award honors an individual OCA member for outstanding contribution and dedication to the field of communication in Ohio.  Nominations for Distinguished Service Award must include the following: (1) a letter of nomination that provides a 250-500 word summary of the service record of the nominee; (2) a copy of the nominee’s current curriculum vita; (3) letters of support from at least two additional nominators; (4) additional support materials as appropriate.

Distinguished Graduate Student Award:  Nominate your most distinguished graduate student by submitting: (1) a letter of nomination that provides a 250-500 word description of the student’s academic and community service activities; (2) a copy of the nominee’s current curriculum vita; (3) further evidence documenting the nominee’s merit (letters of support from faculty, students, administrators, or members of the community, examples of the student’s papers or projects, etc.).

Distinguished Undergraduate Student Award:  Nominate your most distinguished undergraduate student by submitting: (1) a letter of nomination that provides a 250-500 word description of the student’s academic and community service activities; (2) a copy of the nominee’s current curriculum vita; (3) further evidence documenting the nominee’s merit (letters of support from faculty, administrators, or members of the community, examples of the student’s papers or projects, etc.)

All nominations and supporting documentation must be emailed or postmarked by May 28, 2010.

Send materials to:

For more information, email (jltyus@ysu.edu) or phone (330) 941-1856