The Early Career Scholar of the Year award honors assistant professors in tenure-track, research-track or clinical-track positions at the University of Iowa who are currently involved in research, scholarship and/or creative activity and show promise of making a significant contribution to their field.

Eligibility and Criteria

All current assistant professors who are in their first to fourth year* of a tenure-track, research-track, or clinical-track position at the University of Iowa and who have a 50 percent or greater appointment are eligible for this award. (*Extensions and prior appointments within grade outside the University of Iowa do not count.)  

Self-nominations are not allowed. Deans, DEOs, department chairs/heads, supervisors, and other senior faculty or staff may serve as nominators. 

Competitive nominees will address impact in more than one of the criteria listed below:

• Superior scholarship as evidenced by recent publications in prestigious journals;
• Demonstration of significant promise and exceptional potential during their time at the University of Iowa; 
• Publication of a significant book and/or receipt of a prestigious book prize; 
• Receipt of distinguished awards from one's peers or professional societies;
• Receipt of major external funding;
• Consistent record of highly cited, influential publications; 
• Presentation or exhibition of significant work in the creative, visual or performing arts; and/or
• Editorial board membership of a peer-reviewed journal; external peer recognition of scholarly accomplishment (e.g. best paper, best poster). 

Nomination and Selection Process

Required Documentation:

• ​​Letter of Nomination - Attach a brief description, no more than 750 words in length, describing the nominee’s qualifications and accomplishments.
• Up to three Letters of Endorsement.  Letters of support from a variety of constituents, UI and non-UI (e.g., experts in the field), will have a greater impact. Letters of support should each be no more than one page in length and address the criteria listed above.
• The Letter of Nomination and the Letters of Endorsement should be written by different people.
• Nominee's CV (up to 10 pages). 

Late or incomplete materials will not be accepted. 

Submission Process and Deadline

The deadline for submissions is January 3, 2025.  Submissions should be completed by Nominators.

Nominators, CLICK HERE to begin the submission process.  Click "Apply" and sign-in with your Hawk ID and password through the blue "University of Iowa Login" button.  If you have problems or questions, contact Lauren Galliart (lauren-galliart@uiowa.edu) in the OVPR well ahead of the deadline.

Award Details

• A prize of $1,000 and a commemorative gift.
• Recipients will be recognized at the University of Iowa Faculty and Staff Awards Celebration in May 2025.

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