Policies and guidelines for all SUNY and university awards listed here are distributed annually during the nomination period. Units and departments should carefully review the solicitation letter from the Office for Faculty Affairs and the attached guidelines for updates and supplemental information.
Per SUNY Guidelines:
"The Distinguished Professorship programs nominations forwarded to the System-level must be the product of an objective and rigorous campus review." Nominations for SUNY Distinguished Ranks and for SUNY Chancellor's Award must be routed through each department or unit selection committee. Nominations must come forward through this process to the local campus committee.
Award Name | Final Nomination Due Date | |
SUNY Distinguished Professor | July 1 (November decision) October 15 (March decision | |
SUNY Distinguished Service Professor | July 1 (November decision) October 15 (March decision) | |
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor | July 1 (November decision) October 15 (March decision) | |
SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service | November 1 | |
SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Activities | November 1 | |
SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching | November 1 | |
SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Librianship (To Librarian's Selection Committee) | November 1 | |
SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching | September 3 | |
UB Distinguished Professor | March 1 | |
UB Exceptional Scholar Award (Sustained Achievement/ Young Investigator) | March 15 | |
UB Teaching Innovation Award | March 15 |
SUNY System Guidelines for Distinguished Ranks Nominations
Created by the State University Board of Trustees as a prestigious system-level distinction, the Distinguished Faculty Rank (DFR) programs recognize and reward SUNY’s finest and most accomplished faculty.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs administers the nomination process for: Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Service Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Distinguished Librarianship
Eligible for Nomination | Faculty Service | Scholarship & Creative Activities | Teaching |
Full-time, tenure or tenure track faculty | X | X | X |
Full-time, clinical faculty | X | X | X |
Full-time non-tenure track faculty | X | X | X |
Please do review carefully the general restrictions on eligibility prior to submitting to this office:
The following are special conditions, applicable to all programs that limit eligibility:
• faculty holding Distinguished Faculty Rank – Distinguished Librarian, Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Service Professor, or Distinguished Teaching Professor – may not be nominated for another Distinguished Faculty Rank designation;
• faculty holding qualified academic appointments (as defined in Board of Trustees policies: individuals holding titles of academic rank that are preceded by the designation …“visiting” or other similar designations) may not be nominated; 1
• faculty holding a concurrent administrative appointment above the level of department chair for which they receive extra compensation are ineligible for the DSP;
• faculty who have retired or faculty serving in part-time capacities are ineligible; and
• posthumous nominations are not permissible.
SUNY System Guidelines for Chancellor's Award Nominations
SUNY Sytem Guidelines for Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching
The Chancellor's Awards for Excellence are system-level honors conferred to acknowledge and provide system-wide recognition for consistently superior professional achievement and to encourage the ongoing pursuit of excellence.
The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs administers the nomination process for Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in: Scholarship and Creative Activity, Teaching, Faculty Service, Librarianship, and Adjunct Teaching.
Eligible for Nomination | Faculty Service | Scholarship & Creative Activities | Teaching |
Full-time, tenure or tenure track faculty | X | X | X |
Full-time, clinical faculty | X | X | X |
Full-time non-tenure track faculty | X | X | X |
Each award has program-specific eligibility criteria; nonetheless, there are eligibility criteria common to all. Regardless of program, nominees must have completed three academic years of full-time appointment out of the five years just prior to the year of nomination. Please note the alternate criteria for the Adjunct Teaching Award. Individuals serving in part-time, or visiting capacities - irrespective of the length of their service or amount of their involvement - are ineligible for the Faculty programs with the exception of the Adjunct Teaching Award. Please note that full-time Clinical faculty are eligible for nomination in the following categories: Faculty Service, Scholarship and Creative Activities, and Teaching. Please see eligibility chart noted below: