Center for Faculty Development

The Center for Faculty Development at the University of Houston-Clear Lake supports faculty members by providing resources to improve their teaching, research and professional skills. We serve as a hub for knowledge creation and dissemination. Come join us as we Innovate, Transform and Transcend!

Mission

To promote and sustain a campus culture that values intellectual inquiry, scholarship and creative engagement.

 

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Upcoming Events

Spring 2026 Deadline for Early Career Award

Nominations and materials due: Friday, March 13, 2026

To recognize full-time faculty who have performed at a very high level in teaching, research, and/or service before they apply for promotion (tenure or non-tenure track). One award will be made in 2026. The Faculty member will receive an individual trophy and their department/program/College will be notified of the honor.

Eligibility

• Applicants must have 5 or fewer years of full-time employment at UHCL.
• Assistant Professors (including Clinical Assistant Professors) and Lecturers may apply.
• You may not be in your 6th year currently applying for Associate Professor with tenure or a Lecturer currently applying for Senior Lecturer.
• Faculty who previously received an Early Career Award or a New Faculty Award are not eligible.

Nominations

Faculty may self-nominate. Department Chairs may also nominate one faculty member from their department.

Nominations must include the following materials:

• Current Curriculum Vitae.
• Previous Annual Reviews (including the faculty member's submission, as well as the department chair's response).
• For tenure-track faculty post-3rd year review, please include your 3rd year review evaluation.
• Maximum 300-word essay that describes the faculty member's qualifications for the award.
  Submit nomination and documentation through the CFD Nomination form.

Evaluation

Evaluations for each award will be based on the following activities. Applicants will be evaluated based on their job duties as indicated in the Faculty Handbook (e.g., some Lecturers are not expected to engage in research and will only be evaluated on teaching and service)

Teaching

• Evidence of effective, quality teaching:
  
  • Creates challenging and intentionally designed learning opportunities aligned to meet the rigor of academic and career knowledge and skills of the discipline;
  • Uses evidence-based instructional methods that actively engage, motivate, and inspire students to learn and become empowered lifelong critical thinkers and problem solvers;
  • Provides feedback to students that informs the learning process and fosters personal responsibility for learning;
  • Understands and uses principles of adult learning demonstrating respect and supporting all populations of students in their development;
  • Seeks and uses feedback to improve one’s instructional practice.
• Educational activities outside of direct teaching (e.g., development of new curricula).

Research

• Accomplishment at UHCL in scholarly, or artistic activities which lead to the creation and dissemination of new knowledge; to increased problem-solving capabilities, including such activities as design and analysis; to original critical or historical theory and interpretation; or to the production of art or artistic performance.

Service

• Service while at UHCL to professional organizations and journals; the university, college, department, and program; the profession, and the community.

If you have any questions about this award, please contact us at facultydevelopment@uhcl.edu.