About
The Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards (ROTA) celebrates faculty members from UT System institutions who have made significant contributions to student education. The Regents encourage teaching excellence by recognizing faculty who deliver the highest quality of instruction through demonstrated excellence in teaching and a promising future of sustained excellence in all aspects of instruction.
Up to 15 awards will be given across both academic and health institutions, consisting of a $25,000 award per recipient.
Nomination Criteria
The ROTA program recognizes exceptional educators who demonstrate a commitment to teaching excellence and innovation, enhancing the student learning experience. Indicators of excellence may include:
- Developing innovative, student-focused teaching methods.
- Actively engaging learners through effective strategies.
- Creating opportunities for experiential learning.
- Effectively integrating technology in teaching.
- Adapting methods to improve teaching outcomes.
- Demonstrating a commitment to ongoing teaching improvement.
- Leading and influencing colleagues in teaching excellence.
Eligibility
- Open to tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track faculty.
- Includes educators at undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree levels (e.g., J.D., M.D., M.Arch).
- Past ROTA recipients are ineligible to be nominated.
Nomination Process and Required Materials
Faculty interested in applying should submit a single PDF document containing the following information to the Office of Faculty Affairs by 5 pm, Friday, May 01, 2025.
- Table of Contents: Hyperlinked to all sections.
- Personal Information: Name, title, department, institution, and contact details.
- ROTA Nomination Form
- Mandatory Section (no longer than 20 pages):
- CV
- Teaching Philosophy
- Institutional Endorsement
- Dissemination Plan for teaching innovations
- Letters of support from department chair/dean, peers, and former students.
- Supplemental Section (optional, no longer than 5 pages):
- Student evaluations (comments/numerical)
- Evidence of teaching impact and innovation
- Multimedia: Videos (3-5 minutes total), personal websites, LinkedIn profiles, etc..
All pages must be numbered, and headers in the Table of Contents must hyperlink to corresponding sections.
Once nominations are received, they will be reviewed and final endorsement must be given by president before they are sent to The University of Texas System, Office of Academic Affairs. Only two nominees per institution will be forwarded. If selected, winners will be notified in September.
For more details, please visit: Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards Webpage