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Find the most up-to-date information on the Presidential Search site.

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    Presidential Awards

    Since 2013, University of North Georgia president Dr. Bonita Jacobs has invested over $2.44 million in faculty and staff professional development through the Presidential Awards program. This program offers three awards – semester, summer, and innovation - to provide extraordinary institutional support for faculty and staff to pursue new and innovative ideas that support UNG in fulfilling its mission. Find more details about the application process for each award below.

    • Presidential Semester Award
      • New for 2023 - 2024: The requirements for the Proposal Narrative have been updated. Please ensure that your narrative is responsive to these new requirements. Please refer to the application instructions and Presidential Awards Guidelines for the new requirements. Applications using previous Proposal Narrative templates will be rejected without review.  
      • Application deadline: Thursday December 8, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.

      • Apply Now for the Presidential Semester Award

      • Awards of a full semester course release with up to $12,000 each to support faculty in a focused and meaningful scholarly and significant product upon completion (i.e. external grant application, research protocol, authored book, intellectual property development, etc.). Preference is given to applications that support the mission of UNG as articulated by the mission statement.

      • As part of the Proposal Narrative, applicants must include a dissemination plan to both internal and external audiences. Funding must culminate in a substantive and significant product and meet the scholarship expectations as described in departmental promotion and tenure guidelines.

      • Applicants must specify whether they will focus on their efforts during the fall of 2023 or the spring of 2024, and must meet with their department heads and deans to determine the best semester to utilize the award. Faculty selected for this award may not teach any academic courses during the duration of the funded semester. Faculty award recipients must also sign an agreement to indicate their return to UNG for a period of at least one year after the completion of the semester leave. (University System of Georgia---Board of Regents Policy Manual--Education and Professional Leave 8.2.7.4).

      • Eligibility is limited to tenured or tenure-track UNG faculty who will have been employed at UNG a minimum of two years at the completion of the 2022-23 academic year.

      • Past Semester Award recipients are not eligible to receive a new Semester Incentive Award for three academic years following the academic year the award was received.

      • While faculty may apply for both the Semester and Summer awards, they are only eligible to be awarded one. If a faculty member elects to apply for a Semester or Summer award and an Innovation award, both projects may be funded provided they are significantly different.

      • Prior awardees of Presidential Awards must not be delinquent on award requirements, and must have conducted previous awarded projects with fiscal responsibility and research integrity in order to be eligible for a new award.

      • If an application is to have more than one eligible applicant, one applicant should be designated as the Corresponding Applicant. The Corresponding Applicant must be the individual to complete and submit the online application, and will be the individual who will receive all official communications regarding the application. If an application is submitted by only one applicant, that individual will automatically be designated as the Corresponding Applicant.

    • Presidential Summer Award
      • New for 2023-2024: The requirements for the Proposal Narrative have been updated. Please ensure that your narrative is responsive to these new requirements. Please refer to the application instructions and Presidential Awards Guidelines for the new requirements. Applications using previous Proposal Narrative templates will be rejected without review. 
      • Application deadline: Thursday December 8, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
      • Apply Now for the Presidential Summer Award
      • Awards of up to $10,000 each to support faculty in focused and meaningful research and scholarly and creative activities. Preference will be given to applications that support the mission of UNG as articulated by the mission statement. The project period for Summer Incentive awards will be from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.

      • As part of the Proposal Narrative, applicants must include a dissemination plan to both internal and external audiences. Funding must culminate in an activity during which the faculty member will share the results of her or his work, and meet the scholarship expectations as described in departmental promotion and tenure guidelines.

      • Faculty selected for this award may engage in teaching and service during the summer sessions with prior approval of their dean, as long as the faculty member's total compensation for the summer, including teaching classes and any other external funding (e.g. grant funding), does not exceed 31% of the faculty member's contracted salary.

      • Eligibility is limited to tenured or tenure-track UNG faculty.

      • Summer Award recipients who have been funded for two years in a row are not eligible to receive a Summer Incentive Award for one year.
      • While faculty may apply for both the Semester and Summer awards, they are only eligible to be awarded one. If a faculty member elects to apply for a Semester or Summer award and an Innovation award, both projects may be funded provided they are significantly different.

      • Prior awardees of Presidential Awards must not be delinquent on award requirements, and must have conducted previous awarded projects with fiscal responsibility and research integrity in order to be eligible for a new award.

      • If an application is to have more than one eligible applicant, one applicant should be designated as the Corresponding Applicant. The Corresponding Applicant must be the individual to complete and submit the online application, and will be the individual who will receive all official communications regarding the application. If an application is submitted by only one applicant, that individual will automatically be designated as the Corresponding Applicant.

    • Presidential Innovation Award
      • New for 2023-2024: The requirements for the Proposal Narrative have been updated. Please ensure that your narrative is responsive to these new requirements. Please refer to the application instructions and Presidential Awards Guidelines for the new requirements. Applications using previous Proposal Narrative templates will be rejected without review. 
      • Application deadline: Thursday December 8, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.

      • Apply Now for the Presidential Award for Innovation
      • Awards of up to $5,000 each to support faculty and staff development, and provide opportunities for interdisciplinary and/or cross-functional collaborations among colleagues or individual pursuits focused on innovations and partnerships that promote implementation of best practice models. The project period for Incentive Awards for Innovation will be from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.

      • Any topic, as long as it is related to developing and promoting best practices, will be considered for funding. The important focus is that projects promote innovative institutional practices that support the UNG mission. General submission areas include, but are not limited to, operational efficiency, improved unit performance, enhanced unit analysis, first-year student programming, learning communities, service learning, student research, global engagement, capstone project development, civic engagement, leadership development, economic development, and other community partnerships.

      • Funding must culminate in a product or activity for implementation that can be shared through a campus event. Broader dissemination is encouraged. For faculty receiving an Innovation award, dissemination activities should meet scholarship expectations as described in department promotion and tenure guidelines.

      • If a faculty member elects to apply for a Semester or Summer award and an Innovation award, both projects may be funded provided they are significantly different.

      • Prior awardees of Presidential Awards must not be delinquent on award requirements, and must have conducted previous awarded projects with fiscal responsibility and research integrity in order to be eligible for a new award.

      • If an application is to have more than one eligible applicant, one applicant should be designated as the Corresponding Applicant. The Corresponding Applicant must be the individual to complete and submit the online application, and will be the individual who will receive all official communications regarding the application. If an application is submitted by only one applicant, that individual will automatically be designated as the Corresponding Applicant.

    • Selection Process for all Presidential Awards

      As part of the application, applicants are required to upload a letter signed by the applicant(s), each applicant’s department head, and each applicant’s dean/division head that acknowledges that each person signing understands the requirements related to a potential award, including allowable expenditures and other responsibilities associated with utilizing an award. Applicants are required to use the letter template provided on the online application webpage. Signature by each applicant’s department head and dean/division head serves as an approval of the submission of the proposed project and budget, and certification that the applicant is eligible to receive the award.

      The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research Administration (IERA) will oversee the application and review process. IERA will conduct an initial review of applications to check for applicant eligibility, adherence to application instructions, allowability of budget items, and applicants’ management of prior Presidential Awards. Prior awardees must not be delinquent on award requirements, and must have conducted previous awarded projects with fiscal responsibility and research integrity in order to be eligible for a new award.

      All accepted applications are reviewed by committees consisting of members of UNG faculty, staff, and administration. Applications are scored using rubrics provided to the committees. Scoring rubrics are available to applicants on each award’s application webpage, so that applicants may ensure that their applications are addressing all aspects of the rubric.

      Please refer to the Presidential Award applications and award management guidelines (PDF)

    Presidential Award Recipients

    • 2021-2022 Award Recipients

      Presidential Semester Awards

      Projects receive a full semester release from teaching and service, plus funding support of up to $12,000 each.

      Development of Autonomous Li-ion Battery Management Systems (BMS) using Machine Learning (ML) Techniques for State-of-Health (SOHQ) Diagnostics from Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) Data Dr. Yong Wei, Computer Science and Information Systems
      Social Disparities, Social Distancing, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Georgia Counties Dr. Rana Gautam, Sociology and Human Services Dr. John O'Sullivan, IESA
      Construction of a Histology Lab to Facilitate the Expansion of Undergraduate Research Opportunities in the Biological Sciences and the Development of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Dr. Cathy Whiting, Biology
      Heretics in the Hills: The Medieval Origins of Valdese, North Carolina Dr. Thomas Greene, History, Anthropology & Philosophy
      A Clinical Diagnostic Tool for Quantifying Motor Behavior Outcomes of Therapeutic Interventions Using Measures of Hand Usage Dr. Stanislaw Solnik, Physical Therapy Dr. Andrzej Przybyla, Physical Therapy

      Presidential Awards for Innovation

      Projects receive up to $5,000 each to support full-time faculty and staff members in interdisciplinary and/or cross-functional collaborations or individual pursuits focused on innovations and partnerships to promote implementation of best practive models.

      Saving the Southern Appalachian Ecosystem: An Investigation of Safe Insecticide Treatments Mrs. Jessica Patterson, Biology
      Ms. Aminda Everett, Biology
      Assessing Commercial Fishing Effort Associated with Various Marine Habitats using Global Fishing Watch Ms. Aminda Everett, Biology
      Mrs. Jessica Patterson, Biology
      Flightless Fruit Flies: A Model System for the Study of Human Neurodegenerative Diseases Dr. Jo Qian, Biology
      Dr. Adam Davis, Biology
      A Medical Geology Case Study: The Effect of Deforestation and Asbestos Exposure in North Georgia Region and Its Possible Health Effect. Dr. Katayoun Mobasher, IESA
      Mr. Joseph Hughart, IESA
      Study Away Academy: Faculty Development Workshop to Create & Implement Study Away Programs Mrs. Daniela Martinez, Center for Global Engagement
      Igniting a Diversity Culture Shift in the Sciences at UNG Ms. Valerie Fambrough, Biology
      Dr. Miriam Segura-Totten, Biology
      Dr. Jeanelle Morgan, Biology
      Mentorship Affinity Groups: A New Initiative to Support First-Year Honors Students Dr. Danielle Hartsfield, Honors Program
      Dr. Royce Dansby-Sparks,  Honors Program
      Pollinator Research Garden at the University of North Georgia Dr J. Gary Adcox, Campus Success and Strategic Initiatives - Oconee Campus
      Mrs. Susan Brantley, Biology
      Investigation of Utilizing Podcast and Video Enhanced Multimedia to Strengthen UNG Teacher Education GACE Scores on the Middle Grades Social Studies Examination Dr. Carly Womack-Wynne, Middle Grades, Secondary, and Science Education
      Enhance the Learning and Teaching of Statistics through the Incorporation of the R Programming Language and Applied Problems Dr. Phong Luu, Mathematics
      Coupling Global Supply Chain with Agility, Adaptability, and Alignment to Improve Competitive Advantages Dr. Zuoming Liu, Management & Marketing
      A Starry Night: Murals for the North Georgia Astronomical Observatory Ms. Vivian Liddell, Visual Arts
      Dr. Gregory Feiden, Physics & Astronomy
      Investigating methods for successful translocation of a long-lived vertebrate species following displacement by development Dr. Abigail Neyer, Biology,
      Dr. Natalie Hyslop, Biology
      Dr. Jennifer Mook, Biology
      Designing and Establishing a Weir and Flume Structure for Stream Monitoring in Gainesville, GA Dr. Redahegn Sileshi, Physics and Astronomy
      Dr. Sudhanshu Panda, IESA
      Using Database Development to Fuel Undergraduate Participation in Historical Research Dr. Esther Morgan-Ellis, Music
      Preparing for 2025: Using the Adult Learner 360 Assessment to Improve the Adult Learner Experience at UNG Mrs. Christy Orr, Nighthawk Engagement and Student Transitions (NEST)
      Mrs. Darcy Hayes, NEST
      Ms. Rachael Williams, NEST
      Ms. Chantelle Tickles, NEST
      A Basic Needs Hub at the Vickery House: Reducing stigmas through increasing community connections Mrs. Sherry Parker, UNG Food Pantry - Dahlonega
      Mrs. Rosann Kent, Appalachian Studies Center
      Ms. Kelly Milsaps, Sponsored Programs
      Dr. David Patterson, Biology
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