“The Teacher Who Changed My Life”
Every year, Tulane University bestows two faculty with one of our most prestigious awards – the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Presidential Fellowship for Undergraduate Education. As a member of the Tulane Community, you are uniquely positioned to tell us who should win these awards.
- Who has changed your life?
- Who has gone the extra mile for you?
- Who has supported and mentored you in a meaningful way?
All regular, full-time Tulane University faculty are eligible who hold the following academic titles: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Professor of Practice and Senior Professor Practice. Nominees should have achieved success in:
- Making distinctive contributions to teaching such as challenging and well-organized presentations of the subject, adaptability to the learning needs of students, creating inclusive and equitable classroom environments, innovative approaches to course materials, creation of scholarly materials for student use, and availability to students outside of class.
- Influencing students beyond the formal role as a teaching such as advising or mentoring individual students, advising student organizations or groups, serving on teaching and curriculum committees, interacting informally with students.
- Helping students such as aiding in case of illness or other emergencies, advising students confronted with personal problems.
All nominations should be submitted electronically via the online form by February 10th, 2025.
For questions, please contact CELT.
NOTE: A precondition for any award nominee/recipient is that the faculty member MUST be present at Commencement.
About the Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellows Awards, 2007-present
Through a generous gift in 2006 from Stephen Weiss, a Tulane parent and board member, and his wife, Suzanne Weiss, an endowed fund was established to create the Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellows Awards at Tulane. Because of the generosity of the Weiss family, two awards are presented to full-time faculty members to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching, student advising and instructional improvement and development. All undergraduate students nominate candidates for the awards, with final selections made by a special faculty committee appointed by the president. In 2007, the first two Weiss Presidential Fellows were presented at University Commencement. The title of Suzanne and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellow is held by a faculty member for the duration of their appointment at Tulane. In addition to the title, each awarded faculty member receives a medal and research funds of $5,000 a year for four years.
The recipient wears the medal on formal academic occasions such as commencement ceremonies or whenever academic costumes are worn. The design of the Weiss medallion was inspired by an architectural detail found on the southwestern dormer of Tilton Memorial Hall. Constructed in 1902, the hall originally was built to house the university library. Intricate stone carving and decoration embellish its façade.
