James and Karen Caveney Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award

James and Karen Caveney Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award Application

Education has always been a core value in the Caveney home, so much so that Dr. James Caveney, his wife, Karen, their three children, and immediate family hold 19 degrees from West Virginia University.  In 2014, the Caveneys established the James and Karen Caveney Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award to be awarded annually to a highly productive faculty member at West Virginia University.  The award of $6,000 shall be used for faculty support for research, teaching, and service including but not limited to travel, research, technology enhancements, library resources and staff/student support.

Eligibility for Award

All faculty members holding a continuing appointment, at or above the rank of assistant professor or the equivalent, including those serving in administrative positions, are eligible for consideration for the award upon nomination or application.  At this time only faculty members holding appointments on the Morgantown campus will be eligible.

Criteria

• Recipients shall demonstrate excellence in research and acquisition of grants; exceptional teaching and innovation in instruction; and commitment to the people of West Virginia, on and off the campus.
• Recipients shall have a good moral reputation and community standing.
• In the event of a tie between two candidates, the preference will go to the one that is a WVU alumnus and/or a member of the WVU Alumni Association.

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee is comprised of award recipients from the previous three years.  Members of the Committee are ineligible for the award during their period of service on the committee.

Nomination/Application Procedures

The Dean’s Office of each college/school is responsible for nominating individuals for the award. Each college/school may submit one candidate.

Nominations and applications must be received, with all required documents, by the end of the business day, Monday, February 3, 2025.  No late nominations will be accepted.  Nominations and applications, including the required documents described below, are to be uploaded to Digital Measures under Archived Reports and Documents in Other Submissions. Please select the current Academic Year, select Award: James and Karen Caveney Faculty Excellence in the submission type and upload your materials in the Initial Faculty Submission. Any submitted nomination packets that are incomplete on the deadline date or which exceed the limitations on maximum length will be returned unevaluated.

Required Documents

1. Cover Page:  One-page application.
2. Table of Contents :  The one-page table of contents should identify materials submitted as part of the required support documentation, including links to internet sources.
3. Summary Statement and Abridged Curriculum Vita : A summary statement should be submitted discussing the basis for nomination and the characteristics that make this nominee an outstanding candidate based on the criteria as described elsewhere in this document.  The length of the summary should not exceed four (4) non-reduced, double-spaced pages, 12-point font, typed on one side only.  The curriculum vita should be limited to five (5) pages emphasizing but not limited to the faculty member's career as researcher, teacher, and service provider including degrees earned, record of positions held and duties associated with each, awards and honors, professional/educational society activities and offices, textbooks written, and major publications.
4. Research Supporting Documentation :  Supporting documents should not exceed five (5) pages and may include the following, as appropriate. 
1. a description of the research that is to be considered including the grants that have   been  funded (for collaborative research, the contribution of the candidate should be clearly identified);
2. a list of five or six possible referees who are experts in the relevant discipline or disciplines, most of whom are outside West Virginia University and at peer research institutions (please provide complete address, telephone, and e-mail information).
5. Teaching Supporting Documentation:  Supporting documents should not exceed ten (10) pages and may include but are not limited to:
1. evaluations by peers, students, alumni, chairs and/or deans (student evaluations should be tabulated and/or summarized);
2. representative syllabi and course outlines;
3. list of courses taught, number of credit hours taught, and number of students for each class for the past five years;
4. other teaching awards or teaching grants funded;
5. evidence demonstrating innovative course, curricula, or programing development including those of the nominee adopted by others.
6. Service Supporting Documentation:  Supporting documents should not exceed four (4) non-reduced, double spaced pages:
1. summarize the nominee’s service and outreach activities benefiting the state and its citizens;
2. d escribe specific activities which serve as the basis for the nomination;
3. describe the ways in which those activities go beyond the nominee’s performance of a routine job assignment.  

Applications must be received, with all required documents, by Monday, February 3, 2025.  No late applications will be accepted.   Please upload the nomination to Digital Measures under  Archived Reports and Documents in Other Submissions. Please select the current Academic Year, select Award: James and Karen Caveney Faculty Excellence in the submission type and upload your materials in the Initial Faculty Submission.  All pages should be consecutively numbered beginning with the number one on the Cover Page.  Please note that the total number of pages may not exceed 30. 

In general, the documentation should be brief, with the emphasis on the quality of the activity and productivity in research, teaching, and service rather than quantity.

For additional information, please email  FacultyDevelopment@mail.wvu.edu or call 304-293-2021.