Academic Affairs & Provost

Home > Faculty Awards—University > Distinguished Women Scholar Award

Sara Evans Faculty Scholar/Leader Award

The Sara Evans Faculty Woman Scholar/Leader Award recognizes women faculty at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities who have achieved significant national and international accomplishments and honors and who contribute as leaders on campus. In addition to supporting outstanding women scholars, this award also reflects the university’s strong commitment to future leaders. This award is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty & Academic Affairs, and the Women’s Center.

General information about the Sara Evans Award:

Sponsor: This award is jointly sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs and the Women's Center.

Recognition: Each of the two (2) scholars selected will receive a one-time grant of $5000 to support scholarly research. Of the two awards offered each year, one will be for a faculty member in science and engineering, and the other will be for a faculty member in the humanities, arts or social sciences, although the Selection Committee reserves the right to not select a recipient in a given year. The award will be presented at the annual Celebrating University Women Awards event hosted by the Women's Center on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

Eligibility: This award is limited to women faculty who are newly promoted to the rank of professor (with no more than five years since promotion) employed at the University of Minnesota for at least two years. McKnight Distinguished professors are not eligible for this award.

Selection Criteria: Nominees are evaluated on the basis of a narrative documenting their scholarly accomplishments, as well as their national and international reputation and impact. The narrative should provide specific evidence of excellence worthy of this recognition. Selection criteria, in order of importance, are:

• Documented evidence of exemplary research/creative accomplishments and the impact of the faculty member’s work on her discipline, as evaluated by peers and experts in her field.
• Significant national and international recognition in the academic community, and evidence of/ or promise for campus leadership.
  

The selection committee will be comprised of previous award winners and the Women's Center Director.

Nomination Process:

A nomination packet recommending a Sara Evans Scholar nominee may be submitted by a faculty member's department head/chair, collegiate dean, or faculty colleague. A complete nomination packet will contain the following pieces:

• A nominator narrative describing how the nominee meets the selection criteria (3-page limit).
• The nominee's curriculum vitae.
• Two letters of support, one from an internal reviewer at the University of Minnesota and one from a reviewer external to the University (3-page limit).

Deadline: Nomination materials for the 2012 awards process are due Friday, May 18, 2011 at 4:30 p.m.

About Sara Evans:
This award is named after Sara Evans, an outstanding scholar and pioneer in her field of history, as well as a campus leader in multiple venues, including leadership for women’s equity and social justice. Professor Evan’s research focused on the history of feminism as a social movement, motivated by her own involvement in civil rights, anti-war, and women’s rights activism. Named a Regents Professor in 2004 and Distinguished McKnight University Professor in 1997, Professor Evans served as Chair of the Department of History and Director of the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies during her tenure at the University of Minnesota. Quoted in 2005 as she was retiring, Sara remarked, "You need to learn the joy of asking a good question and finding out ways to the answer - that will lead you to your life's work."

For questions regarding the Distinguished Women Scholar Award, please contact Chris Bremer at 612-625-6176 or e-mail breme006@umn.edu