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History
In his April 4, 1992 speech to the University Senate, "A Dream Deserved," President E. Gordon Gee announced his intent to form an academy of faculty who are past recipients of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching (AADT), the most prestigious award for teaching at Ohio State. A planning committee of six winners of the AADT and ex officio members from the Center for Teaching Excellence, College of Humanities, and Office of Academic Affairs developed a proposal for the Academy of Teaching, which was then approved by the President. Initial members, the approximately 90 past recipients of the AADT who were still faculty members at Ohio State, were inducted in March 1993.
Benefits to Members and the Community.
Each spring, ten new members, the current year's recipients of the AADT, are inducted into the Academy. Award winners are selected by a rigorous process involving nominations, initial narrowing by a selection committee that includes students, and in-depth collection of information on candidates. Evaluative comments are also solicited from former students. Winners receive a $3,000 cash award (from the Alumni Association) and a $1,200 increase in annual salary.
There are currently approximately 186 members. The Academy is headed by an Executive Council with an elected chair. Ex officio members are the Vice Provost, the head of the Alumni Association, and the director of the Office of Faculty and TA Development. The Academy has no budget or formal reporting line, but is affiliated with the Office of Academic Affairs, whose liaison with the Academy is the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies. The Academy requests funds as needed from Academic Affairs for expenses associated with Academy activities. Members have been opposed to formalizing the Academy as an organizational unit, preferring to keep an informal committee structure with ties to Academic Affairs and the teaching support unit, Faculty and TA Development.
The Academy meets periodically and has an electronic mailing list for announcements and discussions between meetings. The stated mission of the Academy is to effect excellence in teaching through the following activities:
* foster excellence in teaching,
* promote the importance of teaching,
* help improve the rewards for teaching,
* help evaluate teaching,
* help create good publicity for Ohio State,
* promote a sense of community among Academy members, and
* work appropriately with other units at Ohio State.
Click here for a list of current Academy members.