• Home
• About
• FIMS Awards
• FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching

FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching

The FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes teaching as a central practice in the work of FIMS faculty. The award acknowledges a variety of contributions to teaching that support the intellectual development and well-being of students at all levels. There are two award categories: one for full-time faculty and one for part-time faculty.

Nominations for the 2024-25 FIMS Teaching Awards of Excellence are due by January 15, 2025.

A faculty member may be nominated by:

• themselves
• a staff or faculty colleague
• a student (undergraduate or graduate)

>> Full details about eligibility, process, and nomination requirements are available in the FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching Guidelines document (pdf).

Student nominations

Has a professor made a positive impression on you? Did they use an innovative approach or delivery in a course? Did they model and promote academic freedom in the classroom, or integrate EDIDIA principles in a particularly effective way? Did their presentation style grab your attention and keep you engaged throughout the course? Undergraduate and graduate FIMS students can nominate a faculty member for the Award for Excellence in Teaching.

* Make sure your intended nominee is willing to accept the nomination, as they will need to prepare a nomination packet (full details available in the FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching Guidelines). The nominating student will be required to submit a (1 page max) letter of nomination.

Eligibility critera

Full-time: no full-time faculty member may be nominated within three years of receiving the FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching (see previous winners below).

Part-time: part-time faculty must have taught at least 1.0 courses within the previous fiscal year (May 1 - April 30). No part-time faculty member may be nominated within one year of receiving the FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching (see previous winners below).

Who decides who wins?

Nominations will be adjudicated by the FIMS Executive Committee, made up of elected full-time faculty members and students, the dean, associate deans, and graduate program chairs. It's possible more than one recipient will be selected.

FIMS Award for Excellence in Teaching

Dean's Award for Lifetime Excellence in Teaching

The inaugural Dean's Award for Lifetime Excellence in Teaching, in recognition of a distinguished teaching career in the Faculty of Information & Media Studies, was awarded in 2018.