The office of President Spanier is calling for the nominations of Penn State faculty for Faculty Scholar Medals.

The Faculty Scholar Medal is awarded in five categories: arts and humanities, engineering, life and health sciences, physical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences. Nominations are not for teaching but for research and work done in the field.

The awards are given in recognition of scholarly or creative excellence represented by a single contribution or a series of contributions around a coherent theme. The contribution may be original basic research in any area of science; the contribution may represent application of knowledge in the creation of a process or device useful to society; the contribution may be in any area of the arts or humanities such as poetry, musical composition, design, sculpture, paintings, ceramics, theatre arts, and photography.

Nominations will be submitted for final review by the respective college’s dean on November 15. Candidates are judged by pre-selected committees of faculty peers in each section. Winners will receive an engraved medal (ooh la la) and $2000 (that’s more like it!) awarded in March.

Unfortunately, only faculty members can make nominations. If you have someone you have encountered at Penn State that you think deserves recognition for their works, be proactive! It couldn’t hurt to contact their supervisor and tell them why you think professor/doctor so-and-so would be perfect for a nomination.