a) As a formality, the Undergraduate Recruiting & Scholarship Committee oversees the Freshman-Senior awards selection. 

b) The Department Office will use Cognos to generate a "Report View of MST Honor Roll." Students with a GPA of 3.8 or higher will be recognized. Transfer students must complete one full semester before they are eligible for awards.

c) Students can earn awards annually, that is, in their Freshman, Sophomore, Junior & Senior years. The awards are called as follows:

• YEAR Outstanding Chemistry Freshman Award (where “year” is the current year)
• YEAR Outstanding Chemistry Sophomore Award (where “year” is the current year)
  
• YEAR Outstanding Chemistry Junior Award (where “year” is the current year)
  
• YEAR Outstanding Chemistry Senior Award (where “year” is the current year)

d) Freshman with a GPA of 4.0 receive an additional recognition, the

• YEAR Freshman Primus inter Pares Scholastic Achievement Award (where "year" is the current year)

e) Each awardee receives a certificate. Primus Inter Pares awardees receive a certificate and additional scholarship support from the Department of Chemistry in the amount of $100. The Undergraduate Recruiting & Scholarship Commitee will work with SFA to determine the most suitable sources. (The Primus Inter Pares awards will be awarded for the first time in 2021, and they replace the "CRC Freshman Achievement & Handbook awards" last awarded in 2019.) 

f) The results of this selection process need to be reported to the DoC Chair by March 31.

• YEAR Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award (3x; the “GTA” awards)
• YEAR Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award (3x, the “GRA” awards)
• YEAR Outstanding Graduate Service Assistant Award (1x, the “GSA” award)
  

c) The Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC) is in charge of choosing the recipients of the GTA and GRA awards. Members of GAC need to recuse themselves from discussions of GTA or GRA award nominations for any student they advise and may recuse themselves (at their own discretion) from discussions of any student that has been serving as GTA for a course taught by this faculty.

d) The DoC Chair is in charge of choosing the recipient of the Graduate Service award. The DoC Chair may delegate his authority to GAC if the DoC Chair needs to recuse himself/herself because the DoC Chair participates in a nomination and/or if he/she advises any one of the nominees.

f) Nominations for GTA awards can be made by undergraduate students and faculty. Aside from the nomination letter, there may be up to two supporting letters. The letters should be addressing the strengths of the nominee and how the teaching methods/style promoted the desired teaching and learning outcomes. Teaching evaluation scores should not be used as only and/or decisive metric.

g) Nominations for GRA awards are made by a member of the student’s doctoral committee (and usually by the student’s advisor). Aside from the nomination letter, there may be up to two supporting letters. The letters should address the strengths of the nominee’s research activities, describe the creative and innovative aspects of the research, and highlight the significance of specific products and their broader impacts. Products include publications, conference presentations, and intra- and intergroup mentoring.

h) Nominations for GSA award can be made by (groups of) undergraduate students, (groups of) graduate students, faculty and staff. Aside from the nomination letter, there may be up to two supporting letters. The letters should address the strengths of the nominee’s service activities and highlight specific activities that have had a noticeable impact on the gradual improvement of any aspects of processes and procedures that maintain the functioning of the department infrastructure.

i) Graduate Student awardees may not win in the same category in consecutive years. Example: If someone wins the GTA award in 2020, they would not be eligible to compete for a GTA award in 2021 (but could compete for Research and Service awards).

j) The Graduate Affairs Committee (GAC) reports the results of its selection to the DoC Chair by March 31. The report needs to include a mini-summary of the accomplishments of each awardee of less than 35 words. This mini-summary will be included in the Awards Banquet program and read at the banquet.

a) There will be one award each year.

• YEAR Outstanding Department of Chemistry Staff Award (where “year” is the current year)

b) The awardee receives a certificate and a check in the amount of $400.

c) The DoC Chair is in charge of choosing the recipient of the Staff Service award. The DoC Chair may delegate this authority to the Personnel Committee.

d) Staff may not win awards in consecutive years. Example: If a staff wins the Staff Service award in 2019, they are not eligible for consideration in 2020.

e) The selection must be completed and reported to the DoC Chair by March 31. The report needs to include a mini-summary of the accomplishment of the awardee of less than 35 words. This mini-summary will be included in the Awards Banquet program and read at the banquet.

a) Beginning in 2021, there will be one award each year.

• YEAR Outstanding Department of Chemistry Undergraduate Service Assistant Award (where “year” is the current year)

b) The awardee receives a certificate and a check in the amount of $200.

c) The DoC Chair is in charge of choosing the recipient of the Undergraduate Service award. The DoC Chair may delegate this authority to the Personnel Committee.

d) Any awardee may not win this award in consecutive years.

e) The selection must be completed and reported to the DoC Chair by March 31. The report needs to include a mini-summary of the accomplishment of the awardee of less than 35 words. This mini-summary will be included in the Awards Banquet program and read at the banquet.

a) There will be three awards each year. Each award recognizes teaching performance in one specific course taught in the previous calendar year. One award will recognize excellence in teaching in a lower-division UG course, one award will recognize excellence in teaching in an upper-division UG course, and one award will recognize excellence in teaching in a graduate course. Each award will be called: YEAR Wilbur Tappmeyer Excellence in Teaching Award (3x; where “year” is the current year)

b) Each awardee receives a certificate and a check in the amount of $500. The award money comes from the WILBUR TAPPMEYER ENDOWED FUND (est. Nov. 29, 1990).

c) The Personnel Committee is in charge of choosing the recipients of the faculty teaching awards. Members of the Personnel Commitee need to recuse themselves from discussions about their nominations for a faculty award.

d) Teaching evaluation scores should not be used as the only and/or decisive metric, but they should be considered in the holistic assessment of each nomination package. From the faculty evaluation spreadsheet, the evaluation score will be provided by the DoC office staff for the course for which the faculty member is being nominated. Evaluations on faculty are based on a 4.0 scale. For courses to be considered in the average, 40% of the students enrolled in the course must have responded to the evaluation. If 40% did not, the course/s are not considered.

e) Nominations for Faculty Teaching awards can be made by (groups of) undergraduate and graduate students in one specific course taught in the previous calendar year. Aside from the nomination letter, there may be up to two supporting letters (from other students talking the course, from GTAs involved in the course, from faculty who observed the course). The letters should be addressing the strengths of the nominee and how the teaching methods/style promoted the desired teaching and learning outcomes. The nomination package must include a syllabus of the specific course and 2 or 3 samples of assessment instruments employed (quiz, test, homework assignment). Nominations are collected in the Department Office. Complete nominations must be received by March 1.

f) Faculty may win awards in consecutive years but not in the same category. Example: If a faculty wins the teaching award in 2019 for graduate teaching, they are eligible to compete for both of the 2020 undergraduate teaching awards.

g) The selection must be completed and reported to the DoC Chair by March 31. The report needs to include a mini-summary of the accomplishment of the awardee of less than 35 words. This mini-summary will be included in the Awards Banquet program and read at the banquet.

a) The WILBUR TAPPMEYER ENDOWED FUND (est. Nov. 29, 1990) sources awards for excellence in teaching undergraduate chemistry at Missouri S&T.  Should the annual distributions exceed the amount needed for undergraduate teaching awards, the chair may use this fund for additional faculty awards, scholarships or fellowships.  In this spirit, one of the three faculty teaching awards is made for excellence in teaching graduate level chemistry courses at Missouri S&T. 

b) Beginning in June 2021, this fund also will be used for additional faculty scholarships.  These scholarships will be named

• YEAR Wilbur Tappmeyer Faculty Scholarship (where “year” is the year in which the award is made)

c) Each awardee receives a certificate and a scholarship in an amount not exceeding $750.  In 2021,  two such awards may be made.  In subsequent years, there can be up to three awards in one calendar year.   

d) An awardee may not win this award in consecutive years.

e) The DoC Chair is in charge of choosing the recipient of the Wilbur Tappmeyer Faculty Scholarship. The DoC Chair may delegate this authority to the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education.

f) NTT and T/TT faculty members of Missouri S&T’s Department of Chemistry may apply for a Wilbur Tappmeyer Faculty Scholarship and any reasonable request will be considered.  A request may not exceed one single-spaced page with 1 inch margins and 11 pt font size; more detail will later be requested as needed.  An application might include, for example, a request for travel support for the faculty to present at an ACS Meeting in the Division of Chemical Education, a request for financial support to develop and/or update educational teaching and/or assessment materials, a request to help finance the purchase of software and/or hardware to support the teaching mission, and so on.  Requests will be reviewed with an open mind and decisions will be based on the anticipated impact of the proposed activity/acquisition on undergraduate teaching excellence.   

g) The selection for a given calendar year must be reported to the DoC Chair by March 31 of the following year. The report needs to include a mini-summary of the accomplishment of the awardee of less than 70 words. This mini-summary will be included in the Awards Banquet program and read at the banquet.

a) The Awards Banquet is typically held at Matt’s Steak House on the third Friday of April, i.e., April 17, 2020.

b) All reward recipients are to be notified via email and regular mail. Each recipient may invite two (2) guests to the banquet and the department will pay for their meals. If more than two (2) guests are invited, the recipient must pay for those additional guests.

c) All other faculty and staff are invited to attend the banquet together with their significant other and the department will pay for their meals.

2021 Department of Chemistry Awards

2020 Department of Chemistry Awards

2019 Department of Chemistry Awards