Regents' Outstanding Teaching Awards

Applications for the 2025 ROTA are due Friday, May 30, 2025.

For more information about previous years’ awards (2008-2024), including past winners, please see the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards webpage. Questions regarding the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards program may be directed to: rota@utsystem.edu.

Overview

The UT System’s vision as an “institution of the first class” includes a commitment to continuous improvement in the quality of the education its faculty provide to its students. The Board of Regents places the highest priority on teaching at System universities. 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.

In November 2008, the Board of Regents introduced the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards for the academic institutions, and the awards were later expanded to include UT System health institutions. The awards are a symbol of the importance placed on the provision of teaching and learning of the highest order. The awards are offered in recognition of those who serve our students in an exemplary manner and as an incentive for others who aspire to such service.

 

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 renominated.

Nominations Process

  • Call for Nominations: Issued by the Offices of Academic and Health Affairs in February (Note: for 2025, the Call was issued in March).
  • Submission Deadline: Friday, May 30, 2025.
  • Institutional Endorsement: Each candidate must have the endorsement of their institution’s president (or delegate).
  • Nominee Limit: Maximum of two nominees per institution.
  • Submission: Send materials to rota@utsystem.edu, via cloud storage links (OneDrive/Teams), or by mailing a USB drive to:
    The University of Texas System, Office of Academic Affairs, 210 West 7th Street, Austin, TX 78701.

Nomination Materials Required

Each nominee’s submission, limited to 25 pages as a single PDF bearing the nominee’s surname and campus (e.g., Smith-UTARL.pdf), must include:

  1. Table of Contents: Hyperlinked to all sections.
  2. Personal Information: Name, title, department, institution, and contact details.

  3. ROTA Nomination Form: 

    Updated ROTA Form
  4. Mandatory Section (≤ 20 pages):
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Teaching Philosophy
    • Institutional Endorsement
    • Dissemination Plan for teaching innovations
    • Letters of support from department chair/dean, peers, and former students.
  5. Supplemental Section (optional, ≤ 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.

Selection Process

  • Awards: Up to 15 awards across academic and health institutions. No institution is guaranteed an award.
  • Committee: Separate committees for academic and health institutions will recommend recipients to the Executive Vice Chancellors.
  • Timeline:
    • Call for Nominations: February
    • Submission Deadline: Late May
    • Notification: September
    • Presentation: November Board of Regents (BOR) Meeting

Selection Criteria

  • Demonstrated commitment to teaching excellence through effectiveness, innovation, and creativity.
  • Evidence of enhancing student learning through engaging learners, experiential learning, effective use of technology, and adapting teaching methods.
  • Successful dissemination of methodologies and innovations to other faculty members within their university and across UT System institutions.
  • Nomination packet includes all mandatory information and is easy to navigate.

Presentation of Awards

  • Monetary Portion: $25,000. Please note award money is considered creditable compensation for the purposes of ORP and TRS and is also subject to federal tax withholding. Transfers to an institution as a donation in lieu of receipt by the recipient does not avoid taxation, although the recipient might be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction. Funds will be disbursed via paycheck following the November BOR meeting.
  • Date of Presentation: During the November BOR Meeting.