University of North Texas 
UNT Faculty Awards
UNT faculty play a critical role in helping the university achieve its goals, vision
and mission. As educators, researchers, mentors and leaders, our world-class faculty
members are the key to our students’ success — not just while they’re enrolled at
UNT but for the rest of their lives.
The following awards recognize faculty members whose excellence in teaching, research, scholarship and service brings distinction to the university and their fields. These honors — many of which are presented during the annual Salute to Faculty Excellence Awards Celebration — are a way to show our appreciation for the talented and dedicated faculty members who make UNT shine.
UNT Foundation Awards
The UNT Foundation Eminent Faculty Award
Recognizes a tenured faculty member at the rank of professor, who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service and has served as an inspiration to the UNT community. This award is one of the university's highest faculty honors and is given by the UNT Foundation to one full-time faculty member.
The UNT Foundation Faculty Leadership Award
Recognizes a full-time faculty member who significantly impacts the academic enterprise of the university through their leadership and service. The award recipient demonstrates a high degree of professionalism, is committed to the strategic mission of the university and encourages others to support and work toward the public good through innovative initiatives.
The UNT Foundation Community Engagement Award
Recognizes a full-time faculty member whose career is marked by sustained activities that systematically and effectively advance mutual university-community engagement, successfully address important community issues through collaborative initiatives, and create intellectual products respected by peers within and beyond the academy.
The UNT Foundation Outstanding Lecturer Award
Recognizes a lecturer, who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service and has served as an inspiration to the UNT community. This award is one of the university's highest faculty honors and is given by the UNT Foundation to one full-time faculty member at any rank of lecturer.
Office of the Provost Awards
Adjunct Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence
Recognizes a part-time faculty member who exemplifies the highest quality of teaching and mentorship of students.
Presidential Early Career Professorship Award
Recognizes an assistant professor during their probationary period who has an outstanding record of research, scholarship or creative activity and whose work shows the potential to be transformative.
Ulys & Vera Knight Mentor Awards
Recognizes full-time faculty members who demonstrate sustained excellence in mentoring undergraduate students, graduate students and/or other faculty members. Mentoring may include support and guidance in the areas of teaching, research, service, academic achievement and/or professional development.
University Distinguished Teaching Professorship
Recognizes tenured faculty at the rank of associate professor or professor who perform outstanding teaching, teach at the introductory levels of their disciplines and promote the continuous development of teaching excellence among their colleagues in the UNT community.
University Distinguished Research Professorship
Recognizes tenured faculty members at the rank of professor who have achieved a truly exceptional record of creative activities or research productivity and who demonstrate a record of continued extraordinary productivity.
Recognizes tenured faculty at the rank of professor who have performed outstanding teaching, research and service to the profession, and who have achieved a high level of national and international recognition.
Teaching Awards
DSI CLEAR Outstanding Online Course Award
Recognizes excellence in the design of online courses and the facilitation of the instructional experience using educational technology.
Named for the late Professor Floyd Graham, this award is presented to faculty member at the rank of professor for outstanding and unselfish service to students. The ‘Fessor Graham Award is the highest honor given by the student body. A student committee selects the ‘Fessor Graham recipient and an additional five Honor Professor award recipients.
J.H. Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award
Named for UNT alumnus Joe Houston Shelton, this award recognizes a full-time faculty member for a record of outstanding teaching at UNT for at least a five-year period.
Recognizes a full-time faculty member for a record of teaching excellence at UNT for at least a five-year period. The award is funded by the President's Council.
President's Council Teaching Award
Recognizes a full-time faculty member for a record of teaching excellence at UNT for at least a five-year period.
The Student Government Association presents faculty with their Honor Professor awards at the Honors Day ceremony each year. Departmental awards are reported to the association in order to make sure all faculty who are chosen are recognized with a plaque at the ceremony.
A way to say thanks to your exceptional teachers through the Thank-a-Teacher program.
Research Awards
Given to a full-time faculty member whose publications, performances, or exhibitions in the literary or creative arts have had the greatest societal impact.
Early Career Award for Research and Creativity
Given to a full-time faculty member within their first 10 years in a full-time appointment whose research accomplishments or creative endeavors have been outstanding and whose scholarly/creative products are considered to have had high impact in the faculty member's discipline and/or on society.
Recognizes tenure-track and tenured faculty members in science and technology who demonstrate outstanding research in the natural sciences, computational sciences, or technology at the University of North Texas.
Given to a full-time faculty member whose research excellence and leadership at UNT have made a substantial contribution to their discipline and achieved national and/or international recognition.
Honors mid-career faculty members who demonstrate excellence in research or creative productivity while also excelling as a teacher.
Named in honor of the distinguished contributions of Robert B. Toulouse, this award recognizes the outstanding teaching and scholarly or creative achievements of a full-time, tenured member of the graduate faculty.
Service Awards
Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Education
Honors an individual in the university community with a minimum of six to eight years at UNT who has an exemplary record of distinguished, meritorious, and longstanding contributions to international education and internationalization at UNT.
Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to International Education
Honors an individual in the university community with a minimum of two years and maximum of five years at UNT who has made distinguished contributions to international education and internationalization at UNT.
Outstanding Library Faculty Award
Recognizes a library faculty member who has made significant and sustained contributions to the library, university or profession as evidenced by the quality of their librarianship, scholarly-creative activities or service activities.
President's Council University Service Award
Established to recognize a full-time faculty member for a record of teaching excellence at UNT for at least a five-year period.
Honors an extraordinary student, faculty or staff member (or group) who has contributed momentous, unique talent or service to the university and cultivated UNT pride. This award is given where no usual award or recognition is available due to unique quality of the contributions. The president selects the recipients and presents the awards as the occasion arises. This award will be presented at the Staff Appreciation Luncheon or Salute to Faculty Excellence Dinner or Honor's Day program depending on the respective recipient.
Bob Rogers Service and Community Engagement Award
Given by the Office of the President to a faculty or staff member whose talent, dedication, passion and community service enhances both UNT and the greater community and helps them maintain strong bonds. The distinct and required characteristic of the recipient is a genuine attitude of selfless service, kindness and joy embodied by the late Bob Rogers.