The UNCW Library Engagement Award is given annually to a UNCW faculty member or instructor who has engaged in innovative or exceptional work with library collections, programs, staff, and services in furtherance of UNCW student success or research, scholarship, and creative output. This award, presented by the Dean of the Library at the spring Faculty Awards Celebration, recognizes faculty for outstanding partnerships supporting the library’s mission, vision, and strategic initiatives.
Nomination and Selection Process
UNCW Library staff and faculty are invited to write a short statement of support of no more than two pages describing how the nominee makes an impact on UNCW student success or research, scholarly, and creative output via one or more of the following criteria. Statements should clearly articulate both the nature of the library partnership(s) and how these partnerships resulted in outcome(s) furthering student success or research, scholarship, or creative output.
- Promotes the role of the library as the intellectual heart of campus;
- Works in partnership with library staff or faculty in teaching, research, scholarship, or creative works;
- Creatively incorporates library resources, staff, and/or faculty in course design and instruction;
- Collaborates with library staff or faculty to create research-based assignments or activities;
- Collaborates with library staff or faculty to create and host community programming or events;
- Conducts original research using the library’s collections of distinction (e.g. the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History) that leads to published scholarship or creative works in their field;
- Promotes effective and creative connections between students and library staff, services, and/or resources;
- Leads efforts to scaffold information literacy concepts throughout the curriculum in their academic area;
- Partners with the library to foster a campus commitment to open and equitable information access;
- Creatively engages with signature spaces in the library (e.g. the Visualization & Analysis Lab, the Makerstudio, the Retreat @ Randall);
- Collaborates with library staff or faculty to promote inclusive and welcoming library collections, spaces, and/or services.
After nominations have been received, eligible nominees will be requested to submit a brief narrative of no more than two pages and relevant work sample in support of their nomination. The UNCW Library Engagement Award Committee, composed of three to five library employees and the immediate past recipient, will select the recipient based on the depth and innovative nature of their engagement with the library and the degree to which this engagement demonstrably furthers student success or research, scholarly, and creative output. Preference will be given to nominees who have demonstrated sustained library engagement over time and who have not previously received a UNCW Library Engagement Award.
The recipient, who will receive a medallion, certificate, and $500 monetary prize, will be notified by the Dean of the Library prior to the Faculty Awards Celebration.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you must be a current UNCW faculty member or instructor who has not received the award in the previous two years. All part-time and full-time faculty and instructors (excluding those in the library) are eligible for nomination, regardless of rank or employment term.
Key Dates and Times
- Nominations open in November, due in December
- Nominee application due end of January
- Winner Notified in March
- Award presented in April
Nominations and applications are accepted through UNCW's InfoReady portal.