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Office of the Vice-Principal Research & Innovation

[Archived] University of Toronto Scarborough Research Excellence Faculty Scholars

UTSC Research Recognitions have been updated as of Fall 2023. Please refer here for current internal awards opportunities.

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  1. Purpose:
    • To advance and recognize mid-career faculty at the University of Toronto Scarborough with strong evidence and contribution to research outcomes and dissemination. 
    • To raise researcher profile and create leveraging opportunities to advance their research.
    • To provide a program that is managed at the campus level and held to institutional standards.
    • To contribute to an attractive scholarly environment at the University of Toronto Scarborough and to assist academic units in recruitment and retention efforts.
  2. Award and Conditions:
    One Faculty Research Excellence Scholar will be selected each year:
    • Open to tenured faculty at the rank of Associate or Full Professor with a primary appointment at UTSC.
    • Faculty members should hold or have held Tri-Agency and/or other external research funding.
    • Faculty members who hold a CRC, industrial chair, endowed chair, University Professorship, Distinguished Professorship or other named professorship, or who are serving as a Departmental Chair or Centre Director, are not eligible.
    • The award is not renewable.
    • Award terms will be from July 1st to June 30th
    • Recipients of the Research Excellence Faculty Scholars Award cannot be nominated for the Principal’s Research Award until at least one year after the completion of their tenure as a “University of Toronto Scarborough Research Excellence Faculty Scholar”.
  3. The award includes:
    • The title of “University of Toronto Scarborough Research Excellence Faculty Scholar” can be used for the duration of the award.
    • A stipend of $10,000 to be used in support of research activities.
    • The delivery of a public lecture given to the University of Toronto Scarborough community and open to the public once during the  term.
    • A brief annual report by the award recipient outlining their research achievements  during the tenure of the award.
  4. Nomination Process:
    • Nominations should normally be made by Department Chairs/Centre Directors.
    • Each academic unit may nominate one faculty member per year.
    • The nomination package should include:
      • A Nomination letter – not to exceed two pages in length – signed by the Chair/Director detailing the reasons for the nomination written in clear non-specialist language for an interdisciplinary selection committee. The letter should contextualize the impact of the nominee’s research achievements and funding record to disciplinary norms of excellence nationally and internationally to help enable all members of the Selection Committee to effectively evaluate nominations involving fields outside of their disciplinary expertise.
      • The candidate’s complete, up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV). It is encouraged that, if applicable, the candidate’s CV include an explanation of any circumstances that have affected her/his productivity (e.g., maternity/paternity leaves, etc) in order to allow for a fair assessment of their nomination.
      • A short biography (500-700 words) highlighting in plain language the candidate’s education, career history, and key achievements, awards and honours. This is an invaluable document for the Selection Committee and will be used as the basis for the public announcement in the event that the nominee is selected to be a Research Excellence Faculty Scholar.
  5. COVID-19 Research Impact Statement:
    • We recognize that COVID-19 may have adversely affected faculty member research activities, and accordingly invite applicants to provide a brief statement on the impact of the pandemic in this regard (no more than 100 words) if applicable. This information will be shared with the award adjudication committee.
  6. Selection Criteria:
    Nominees must be:
    • Outstanding and innovative world-class researchers who are recognized internationally as emerging/established leaders in their fields.
    • Conducting original, innovative, high quality research
    • Quality of the research program  and research record.
    • Potential impact of the award on the research program to raise researcher profile and create leveraging opportunities to advance their research.
    • When assessing the nominee’s accomplishments, reviewers are instructed to give careful consideration and be sensitive to the impact of any identified circumstances that have affected a candidate’s productivity (e.g., maternity/paternity leaves, etc).
  7. Selection Process:
    • A Selection Committee composed of UTSC Research Advisory Board members, with the Vice-Principal Research & Innovation (VPRI) as the Chair of the Committee, will meet to evaluate and select the candidate each year.
  8. Annual nomination deadline: February 1 (or the next business day if the 1st falls on a weekend/holiday). Nominations must be submitted electronically in one PDF file to researchoffice.utsc@utoronto.ca.  Questions about this award should be sent to researchoffice.utsc@utoronto.ca with the Subject “Research Excellence Faculty Scholars Award”.