The Middle Eastern Studies Program

Teaching Recognition Award

Call for Nominations

In April 2020, the Middle Eastern Studies Program will present the Teaching Recognition Award (TRA) to one of the affiliated faculty members. The TRA was established in 2016 to recognize excellence in teaching and to appreciate indispensable contributions of our faculty to enhancement of knowledge of the MENA region. The previous recipients of the award include Prof. Amy Kallander (2016), Prof. Hossein Bashiriyeh (2016), Prof. Miriam Elman (2017), Prof. Rania Habib (2017), Prof. Jaklin Kornfilt (2018), Eva Phillips (2018), Prof. Mehrzad Boroujerdi (2019), and Michal Downie (2019). 

This year, the TRA Committee, consisting of two affiliated MES faculty members and a current MES student, will select one candidate from among nominated faculty members as the award recipient. At the Annual Spring Reception, the award recipient will be presented with a plaque and a symbolic monetary gift of $500. Funds may be used for purchasing research materials, books or defraying conference travel expenses.  

All MESP affiliated faculty members, except those who received a TRA within the last three years, are eligible for the award. The criteria for selection, among others, include the quality of teaching, assessed by student evaluations, and the number of courses taught during the past three years.  Faculty may also be considered for the award not just for their excellence with respect to timetabled courses, but through the full range of pedagogical and curricular activities in which our faculty are engaged, directed studies of any sort; collaborative scholarship with students; academic advising, mentoring, and career placement; teaching and learning activities connected with advising student organizations and other co-curricular activities; curriculum development; pedagogical innovation etc.

Nominees can self-nominate or be nominated by other MESP faculty and/or students by sending a brief nomination letter via email to Prof. Yüksel Sezgin at ysezgin@maxwell.syr.edu. 

The deadline for nominations is April 1, 2020.