Regents Professorship

Established in 1965 by the Board of Regents to recognize the national and international prominence of faculty members, the Regents Professorship is the highest honor the University of Minnesota bestows on its faculty. It recognizes faculty who have made unique contributions to the quality of the University of Minnesota through exceptional accomplishments in teaching, research and scholarship or creative work, and contributions to the public good.

From the inception of the Regents Professorship program, the University of Minnesota Foundation has underwritten a stipend for each Regents Professor. The stipend is currently $50,000 annually, with $20,000 dedicated to a salary augmentation and $30,000 dedicated to a discretionary research fund. This is an indication of the importance the University of Minnesota Foundation attaches to the program.

Nomination Deadline: March 21, 2013

2 openings at this time

Who is eligible?

University of Minnesota Full Professors.

Who may nominate?

Any person or group. It is not appropriate for faculty members to nominate themselves or to self-apply.

Selection Process

Once the nomination dossiers have been assembled, the Regents Professorship Selection Advisory Committee will evaluate them, meet and discuss the nominees, and then make their recommendations to the President. The President will then forward a recommendation to the Board of Regents for consideration.

Nomination Procedure

Nominations for a Regents Professorship should be conveyed in a letter of not more than five pages summarizing the nominee's accomplishments and the impact of those accomplishments upon the University and the national and international community. The nominating letter should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae and no more than ten supporting letters. The nominating and supporting letters should address three areas of central importance in the selection of Regents Professors:

• Evidence of scholarly or other creative or artistic achievement. Letters from professional peers and/or recognized scholars in the field will carry significant weight. Nominators are strongly encouraged to solicit letters of support from referees who can address the nominee's national and international stature.
• Teaching and advising. Letters from former students and others who can speak to accomplishments in this area. Raw evaluative data should not be included; instead the nominator may wish to summarize accomplishments in the nominating letter.
• Professionally related service inside and outside the University. Contributions to professional organizations, learned societies, and to the community should be documented.

The nominating file should also include short descriptions of the qualifications of persons writing supporting letters.

Current contact information, including mailing address, email, and phone number must be included for the nominee, nominator and those writing letters of support.

Ten copies of the file must be submitted and will be used to fill open positions (there are 30 Regents Professorship positions with two of the 30 open at this time). Each of the ten copies should be stapled together; elaborate covers, folders, or binders are discouraged. Please keep the original copy of the nomination in your own files because a nomination can be considered for two consecutive years. You may use the same file or update it, but in either case, ten copies must be submitted each time you make a nomination. After each nomination process, one copy of all files will be retained by University Awards and Honors. The remainder will be shredded in order to maintain confidentiality.

Submit nominations to:

Regents Professorship Selection Advisory Committee
c/o Vickie Courtney, director
University Awards and Honors
427 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

If you have any questions about the nominating process, contact Vickie Courtney, director, University Awards and Honors, at 612-625-4805 or courtney@umn.edu.

Board of Regents Policy on Awards, Honors, and Recognition