President's Awards for Excellence

At the time of nomination, candidates must have completed at least three continuous academic years of full-time employment in the past five years at UAlbany. Candidates must hold full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty positions or be research associates with full-time, permanent appointments. 

General restrictions on eligibility include:

• Individuals holding the title of Distinguished Professor may not be nominated for this award.
• Individuals holding the title of lecturer or titles of qualified academic rank (preceded by the designation “visiting” or other similar designations) may not be nominated.
• Past recipients of an ERCA Award (formerly Excellence in Research Award) may not be nominated for this award.

Faculty members are nominated by their colleagues for this award. It is preferable that the nominee remain unaware of the nomination. The nominator must inform the nominee’s immediate supervisor and dean/director/unit head of the nomination. All deliberations of the campus committee will remain confidential.

The nomination packet must consist of the following:

• ERCA Award Nomination Checklist
• Cover letter, in a single sheet, including:
  • Nominee name, rank, department and school/college/unit
  • Title or description of the work on which the nomination is based
  • Nominator(s) name(s) — Note: Nominators may be contacted for additional information.
• Documentation on the impact of the nominee’s research and creative activities, in language understood by individuals outside the discipline and in no more than 10 pages. The narrative should explicitly address each of the relevant selection criteria below. It should also contextualize the nominee’s contribution to their field(s) of scholarship by explaining the specific significance within the field(s). When relevant, this should include the context about the normally expected rate and types of publications, and whether research in the nominee’s field is typically more collaborative or individualistic. 
• Nominee’s current curriculum vitae (CV) 
• At least three letters of recommendation from external peers/references, accompanied by short bios of the letter writers. If there are letters of this kind on file for appointment, tenure and promotion, or for some other award in the last three years, these letters can be used. Other materials from the nominee’s tenure and promotion file should not be included unless they address some of the main criteria. At least one letter of recommendation should be written specifically in support of this award.

Nominations should be submitted electronically to Elisa López in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at [email protected] by October 15.

The selection criteria for these awards shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A sustained record of research publications in peer-reviewed journals, research monographs and/or research-oriented text
• Publication awards or other forms of honorary recognition
• Publications by others in the field that make substantial use of the nominee’s publications
• Patterns of citation of the nominee’s work that make it clear that the work has had substantial positive impact on the field
• Translations of the publications into other languages and other ways of using the nominee’s work internationally
• Record of presenting at national and/or international conferences
• List of invited plenary and keynote speeches at professional meetings
• Presentation of papers published in conference proceedings and/or digests
• National and international awards and other forms of honorary recognition of research accomplishment
• Graduate students supervised by the nominee and other forms of professional mentorship
• Grants and fellowships received over the course of the nominee’s career. Information on external grant record should include whether the nominee is the principal investigator and should address the general availability of funding in the nominee’s field
• Patents awarded
• Work that has had an influence beyond academia — this might include influences of the nominee’s work on such areas as public policy or professional, governmental or educational practices
• One-person exhibitions, musical compositions, shows or creative writings of international stature and visibility that have received extensive reviews in the critical press
• Performances for which the nominee is a key contributor (for example: directing, lighting design, solo orchestral performer, etc.) with international visibility and extensive critical reviews
• Inclusion of works in permanent collections, retrospectives and other forms of external recognition and acclaim
• Contributions to highly visible, juried exhibitions or performances at the national and international levels

(Note: The list order does not reflect the importance of the nominee’s contribution, and some items may not be relevant to a nominee’s discipline or type of scholarship.)

The Council on Research or its subcommittee on award nominations will evaluate the nominations and forward recommendations to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. As an ex-officio member of the Council on Research, the Vice President for Research and Economic Development may participate in the Council’s deliberations.  

Evaluators will review all the information relevant for selection of a successful candidate and may request additional information. 

2025

• Annalisa Scimemi, Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
• Barbara Sutton, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, College of Arts and Sciences
• David Yun Dai, Educational & Counseling Psychology, School of Education
• Paolo Forni, Biological Sciences and RNA Institute, College of Arts and Sciences
• Kevin Knuth, Physics, College of Arts and Sciences

2024

• Fangqun Yu, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center
• Julia Hormes, Department of Psychology and College of Arts and Sciences
• Justin Pickett, School of Criminal Justice
• Matthew Szydagis, Department of Physics
• Meredith Weiss, Department of Political Science
• Ryan Torn, Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

2023

• Victor Asal, Department of Political Science
• Andrew Berglund, RNA Institute
• Bradley Armour-Garb, Department of Philosophy
• Youqin Huang, Department of Geography & Planning
• Satyendra Kumar, Ion Beam Lab
• Liming Zhou, Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

2022

• Mathias Vuille, Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences
• Rabi Musah, Department of Chemistry
• Robert Rosenswig, Department of Anthropology
• Antun Milas, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
• Yiming Ying, Department of Mathematics & Statistics

2021

• Jeanette Altarriba, College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Psychology
• Prashanth Rangan, Department of Biological Sciences
• Eli Rosenberg, Department of Epidemiology & Statistics

2020

• Dolores Cimini, Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research
• Christine Wagner, Department of Psychology

2019

• Thomas Begley, Department of Biological Sciences
• J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, Center for Technology in Government and Department of Public Administration & Policy
• John Schwaller, Department of History 

There are three categories for Excellence in Teaching:
 

• Excellence in Teaching by Full-time Faculty: Candidates must be full-time teaching, tenured or tenure-track faculty holding the title of professor, associate professor or assistant professor. Candidates must have completed three academic years of full-time teaching at UAlbany in the five years prior to the semester in which they are nominated. The primary criterion is skill in teaching. Consideration is also given to sound scholarship (usually demonstrated through publications or artistic productions), outstanding service to students, and clear evidence that students are held to high standards and supported in their efforts to reach those standards. Candidates must be teachers/scholars who keep abreast of their own field and who use the relevant contemporary data from that field and related disciplines in their teaching. Evidence in this area includes but is not limited to publications, grants, presentations at conferences and artistic productions.
   
• Excellence in Teaching by Part-time or Full-time Non-tenure-track Faculty: Candidates must be part-time faculty members, professional staff who have taught, or faculty members in non-tenure track appointments for a minimum of six semesters at UAlbany prior to the semester in which they are nominated.  The primary criterion is skill in teaching. Consideration is also given to sound scholarship as appropriate (usually demonstrated through publications or artistic productions), outstanding service to students, and clear evidence that students are held to high standards and supported in their efforts to reach those standards. Candidates’ materials should demonstrate that they keep abreast of their own field and use the relevant contemporary data from that field and related disciplines in their teaching. Evidence in this regard includes but is not limited to accomplishments and achievements in their area of expertise.
   
• Excellence in Teaching by Teaching Assistants: Candidates must be able to document at least four semesters of Graduate Assistant teaching at UAlbany prior to the semester in which they are nominated. The primary criterion is skill in teaching. Consideration is also given to sound scholarship as appropriate, outstanding service to students, and clear evidence that students are held to high standards and supported in their efforts to reach those standards. Candidates’ materials should demonstrate that they keep abreast of their own field and use the relevant contemporary data from that field and related disciplines in their teaching. Evidence in this area includes but is not limited to accomplishments and achievements within their academic pursuits.
   

In all three categories, the following criteria are also used to select nominees for this award:  
 

• Teaching Techniques and Representative Materials: There must be positive evidence that the candidate performs superbly in the classroom. The nominee must maintain a flexible instructional policy that adapts readily to student needs, interests and problems. Mastery of teaching techniques must be demonstrated and substantiated. Consideration is to be given to the number of substantially different courses taught, the number of students per course and the different teaching techniques employed in the various courses. When available, student evaluations (in the form of student questionnaires administered and compiled by persons other than the nominee) presented for several different courses over a period of several recent years may provide a clear idea of the nominee's impact on students. 
   
• Student Services: In relating to students, candidates must be generous with personal time and demonstrate a continual concern for the intellectual growth of individual students. The focus here is the accessibility of the nominee to students outside of class (such as during office hours, conferences and special meetings) and the nominee's responsibility in terms of student advisement.  
   
• Academic Standards and Requirements, and Evaluation of Student Performance: Candidates must set high standards for students and help them attain academic excellence. Quantity and quality of work that is more than average for the subject must be required of the students. Candidates must work actively with individual students to help them improve their scholarly or artistic performance. This individual interaction is an important source of information that indicates the nature and level of instruction offered by the nominee. Consideration is to be given to the quality, quantity and difficulty of the tasks or work assigned to students.
  
  Candidates' evaluations of student work must be strongly supported by evidence. Candidates must be willing to give greater weight to each student's final level of competence than to the performance at the beginning of the course. Since expert teachers enable students to achieve high levels of scholarship, it is possible that the candidates' marking records may be somewhat above average. There must also be evidence that candidates do not hesitate to give low evaluations to students who do poorly. For this category, consideration should be given to grading patterns, particularly grade distributions for all courses in at least two recent years. Evidence demonstrating students' performance and accomplishments may also be assessed, such as placement and achievement levels.
   

Eligibility requirements and selection criteria for the President’s Excellence Awards in Teaching are modeled after those of the SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in the same category.  

UAlbany awardees are selected by committees coordinated by the Provost’s Office. Please contact Associate Vice Provost Youqin Huang ([email protected] or 518-956-8037) with any questions.

Nomination Packet Requirements:  

• A summary from the primary nominator of no more than five pages addressing the candidate’s qualifications relative to the following four criteria:
  • Teaching Techniques & Representative Materials
  • Scholarship & Professional Growth
  • Student Services
  • Academic Standards & Requirements & Evaluation of Student Performance
• Recommendation from the nominee’s departmental supervisor/chair and dean
• The nominee’s detailed curriculum vitae, including current title and teaching, advising and mentoring responsibilities
• The nominee’s personal statement of teaching philosophy
• Representative course syllabi and other appropriate course material
• A chart of all courses taught representing at least four semesters of teaching prior to the semester in which the candidate is nominated, with the following data points for each course:
  • Semester
  • Course number
  • Course title
  • Number of credits
  • Total enrollment
• Teaching evaluations for all courses represented in the chart, with departmental averages for comparison
• Grade distributions for all courses represented in the chart, with departmental averages for comparison
• Minimum of two letters from faculty (can include the nominator’s summary)
• Minimum of three letters from former students

Note: Letters of recommendation should be requested only by the nominator and not the nominee or any other party.

The complete nomination packet is due via email to [email protected] by October 15. The subject line should be “President’s Excellence Award Nomination; Last Name, First Name.” Please send the electronic file as a single PDF file, with separate sections for each selection criterion.  

Please contact Associate Vice Provost Youqin Huang ([email protected] or 518-956-8037) with any questions.

2025

• Caitlin Udas, School of Criminal Justice, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
• Elise Andaya, Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jennifer Dodge, Public Administration & Policy, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
• Teniell Trolian, Educational Policy & Leadership, School of Education
• Susan Cumings, Writing and Critical Inquiry Program

2024

• Susanna Fessler, Department of East Asian Studies
• Federica Francesconi, Department of History
• Paul Stasi, Department of English
• Allison Craig, Writing and Critical Inquiry Program
• Mary Avery, Department of Psychology
• Arzana Myderrizi, Department of Public Administration & Policy

2023

• Christine Bozlak, Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior
• Amanda Spriggs, Department of Anthropology

2022

• Maeve Kane, Department of History
• Mark Hughes, School of Business

2021

• Stephanie Affinito, Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning
• Samantha Friedman, Department of Sociology
• Carmen Serrano, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

2020

• Abigail Kleinsmith, Department of Psychology
• Andrea Kordzek, School of Criminal Justice
• Christopher Pastore, Department of History
• Christine Vassallo-Oby, Department of Latin American, Caribbean & U.S. Latino Studies and Academic Support Center

2019

• Pauline Carrico, Department of Biological Sciences
• Angela Ellis, Department of History
• Danny Goodwin, Department of Art and Art History 

There must be evidence of three years of achievements during full-time service at the University in the five years prior to the semester in which the candidate is nominated. Nominees for the award may hold any of the following academic ranks: professor, associate professor or assistant professor.

To be nominated, a faculty member must demonstrate consistently superior service. Eligible service contributions may occur in a variety of areas, including service to the campus, State University or local community, or contributions at the regional, state, national or international level. Eligible activities may encompass a combination of service contributions to discipline, or disciplinary and professional organizations and societies; and to leadership in local or system-wide faculty governance.

The nature of the service must exceed the work generally considered part of a candidate’s professional obligation in research, teaching and service, and not be in lieu of the normal expectations in these areas. There must be positive evidence of outstanding achievement and skill in providing leadership, outreach or other University and/or community service, or extraordinary service and leadership in the nominee’s professional organization.

The scope of the service must extend over multiple years, must be geared toward effecting positive change and must involve the generous giving of personal time in service to areas previously described.

Nominations must include:

• A current and detailed curriculum vitae
• A summary statement of no more than five pages that addresses the nominee’s service impact. The nature of the service must exceed the work generally considered part of a nominee’s basic professional obligation.
• Confidential letters from peers and others in a position to comment on the nominee’s contributions are encouraged
• Recommendations from the nominee's chair and dean

The complete nomination packet is due via email to [email protected] by October 15. The subject line should be “President’s Excellence Award Nomination; Last Name, First Name.” 

Please contact Associate Vice Provost Youqin Huang ([email protected] or 518-956-8037) with any questions.

2025: 

• Bret Benjamin, English, College of Arts and Sciences
• Ellen Rubin, Public Administration & Policy, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

2024: Edmund Stazyk, Department of Public Administration & Policy

2023: Mila Gascó-Hernandez, Department of Public Administration & Policy and Center for Technology in Government

2022:

• Sheila Curran Bernard, Department of History
• Karin Reinhold, Department of Mathematics & Statistics
• Suraj Commuri, School of Business

2020: Joette Stefl-Mabry, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security & Cybersecurity 

Nominees must hold a full-time appointment as a professional librarian and possess an MLS degree or equivalent. There must be documentation of at least three academic years of service at the University in the five years prior to the semester in which the candidate is nominated.

The nomination must present positive evidence that the candidate performs superbly in fulfilling their librarianship duties. Consideration should be given to the candidate's ability to perform this function in a creative and innovative fashion that is of outstanding quality. 

In providing librarianship services, the candidate must be generous with personal time and easily accessible. The individual must be flexible and adapt readily to the needs of the library, the institution and the constituents served. 

The candidate must also keep abreast of developments in the field and use relevant contemporary data in relation to that person’s work situation. Evidence in this category should include references to publications, membership and work in professional organizations, attendance at meetings, seminars, etc.

Nominations must include:

• A current and detailed curriculum vitae
• A summary statement of no more than five pages that addresses the nominee’s skill in librarianship, service to the University and to the profession, and scholarship and continuing professional growth
• Confidential letters from peers and others in a position to comment on the nominee’s professional impact and contributions are also encouraged
• Recommendations from the nominee's supervisor and dean

The complete nomination packet is due via email to [email protected] by October 15. The subject line should be “President’s Excellence Award Nomination; Last Name, First Name.” 

Please contact Associate Vice Provost Youqin Huang ([email protected] or 518-956-8037) with any questions.

2025: Lauren Puzier, University Libraries

2024: Amanda M. Lowe, University Libraries

2023: Kelsey O’Brien, University Libraries

2022: Gregory Wiedeman, University Libraries

2021: Irina Holden, University Libraries

2020: Rebecca Nous, University Libraries

2019: Sue Kaczor, University Libraries 

There are two categories of Excellence in Professional Service:

• Excellence in Professional Service by Full-time Professional Staff: Nominees must be members of the full-time professional staff or the State University of New York Research Foundation. There must be evidence of at least three years of continuous service in the position for which they are being nominated prior to the semester in which they are nominated.
• Excellence in Professional Service by Part-time Professional Staff: Nominees must be members of the part-time professional staff or the State University of New York Research Foundation. Nominees should have completed three academic years of part-time professional service out of the five years immediately prior to the semester in which they are nominated.

Nominees for the award must be individuals who have repeatedly sought improvement of themselves, their campuses and, by extension or through direct service, the State University and, in so doing, have transcended the normal definitions of excellence. 

At all position levels, nominees shall be those individuals who can serve as professional role models for a University in the pursuit of excellence.

The candidate must perform superbly in their role and demonstrate excellence in professional activities beyond the parameters of their job description. 

The ideal candidate will satisfy the standards in a creative and innovative fashion, while demonstrating flexibility and adaptability to institutional needs. 

Consideration should be given to capabilities and accomplishments in leadership, decision-making and problem-solving. Evidence in this category includes, but is not limited to, professional recognition, initiation of ideas, development of proposals and committee activities.

Nominations must include:

• A current and detailed curriculum vitae
• A summary statement of no more than five pages that addresses the nominee’s performance in fulfilling the job description for the position held as well as excellence in professional activities beyond the parameters of the job description
• Confidential letters from peers and others in a position to comment on the nominee’s professional impact and contributions are also encouraged
• A recommendation from the nominee's supervisor

The complete nomination packet is due via email to [email protected] by October 15. The subject line should be “President’s Excellence Award Nomination; Last Name, First Name.” 

Please contact Associate Vice Provost Youqin Huang ([email protected]or 518-956-8037) with any questions.

2025

• Laura Barron, Information Technology Services
• Melissa Powers, Registrar’s Office
• Elana Stein, College of Arts and Sciences
• David VanVranken, Office of Facilities Management
• Jameelee Ford, Great Dane Union
• Renee Wallingford, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

2024

• Angelina Díaz-Myers, Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS)
• Sheena Loughlin, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy
• Debernee Privott, College of Arts and Sciences
• Kristen Swaney, Undergraduate Education
• Stacey Zyskowski, School of Criminal Justice

2023

• Colleen Davis, The Graduate School
• Michael Dzikowski, Information Technology Services
• Tuuli Edwards, Office of Financial Management and Budget
• Jermaine Harris, Office of Career and Professional Development
• Tremaine Harris, Department of Residential Life
• Carmelina Morrison, UAlbany Alumni Association
• Dafney Amilcar-Rodriguez, Office of Student Financial Services
• Crystal Rogers, School of Social Welfare

2022

• Kevin Wilcox, Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance
• Nelly Bonilla, Office of Financial Aid
• Aaron McCloskey, Human Resources Management
• Brian Stephenson, College of Arts & Sciences
• Pamela Alexander, Student Activities & Orientation

2021

• Tara Evans, Center for International Education and Global Strategies
• Leandra Harris, Residential Life
• Merissa Mabee, Human Resources Management

2020

• Noelle Angelozzi, Office of Financial Management and Budget
• Brad Bunzey, Office of Architecture, Engineering & Construction
• Ann Gunning, University Libraries
• Jason Jones, Office of Parking & Mass Transit Services
• Mary Kay Skrabalak, Educational Opportunities Program
• Barbara Zampella, Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

2019

• Kim Engel, Performing Arts Center
• Nancy Lauricella, Dean of Students Office
• Peter Recore-Migirditch, University Libraries
• Estela Rivero, Student Affairs