Early Career Scholarly Impact Award

The Early Career Scholarly Impact Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated early leadership as scholars, as evidenced by a promising record of scholarly/creative achievement and increasing impact.

Up to three faculty will be selected per year and will receive $2,000 each.

Nomination Information

Eligibility

• Pre-tenure faculty on the tenure track, provided they are not undergoing tenure evaluation in the same year.
• Must have three years of service at Virginia Tech at the time of nomination.
• Individuals can be honored with the award only once.

Selection Criteria

Demonstrated evidence of a promising trend in scholarly or creative achievement and increasing impact appropriate to the candidate’s discipline(s) via one or more of the following categories:

• Publication of peer-reviewed journal articles, research monographs, research-oriented texts, or conference proceedings and/or presentations at conferences and workshops;
• Presentation or exhibition of work in the creative, visual, or performing arts;
• Citation counts or other measures of the nominee’s work that demonstrate the work is having substantial positive impact on the field; and
• Receipt of competitive research grants or funding at a level appropriate to the candidate’s field of study.

Nomination Process and Package

Nominations must be received from a dean or their designee.  Nomination letters may be written by department head/chair or school director, but must be endorsed by the dean. Submissions are limited to one nomination per academic department or school per submission cycle.

Nomination package required elements:

• Cover page with the following information:
  • Nominee name, rank, time in rank at Virginia Tech, time in rank prior to Virginia Tech (if relevant)
  • Department/school and college
  • Name of award being nominated for
  • Name and title of nominator
  • Signature from Dean (if separate from nominator)
  • A brief description of how scholarly excellence is typically measured or assessed in the discipline. For example, how is author order determined in the nominee's field? What are typical measures of quality of scholarly output? This will assist reviews by non-experts. 
• Nomination letter (two-pages maximum): The nomination letter should be a thorough description of the impact of the nominee’s research and creative activities, explicitly addressing the relevant selection criteria and written in language understood by individuals outside the discipline. 
• Curriculum vitae to include lists of publications or performances, grants and contracts, awards, etc.
• Two letters from external references. These references may include collaborators, and typically are from national or international experts in the field (academic, industrial, federal agency, professional association, etc.) attesting to the nominee’s contributions and the impact of their work.