Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence

Purpose

The Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence recognizes the invaluable contributions of Seminole State’s adjunct instructors who bring expertise, passion, and real‑world experience to our classrooms. Adjunct faculty play a vital role in supporting student success, fostering engaging learning environments, and strengthening the academic mission of the College. This award honors those who go above and beyond in teaching, mentorship, and service. We celebrate the dedication and impact of these educators who help our students thrive!

Award

A number of $750.00 awards will be distributed among adjunct faculty within the College's four schools, with preference for recognizing at least one (1) outstanding adjunct faculty member from each school.  

Funding

Funding for this award is generously provided by the Foundation for Seminole State College of Florida, whose commitment to teaching excellence makes this recognition possible and helps honor outstanding adjunct faculty across the College.

Timeline

The application process will begin in January/February. Finalists may be asked to meet with the selection committee and/or members of the Foundation board. Selection of award recipients will take place in April. Awards will be announced in late April.

2026 Nomination Form

Faculty may be nominated by a colleague, or they may choose to nominate themselves. Both of these are encouraged. To nominate a colleague, use the nomination link below. If you would like to nominate yourself, you can go directly to the application link: 2026 Application Packet (Due March 27, 2026).

Due March 6, 2026: I would like to nominate an incredible Seminole State adjunct! 

Eligibility

In order to be considered for an award, the adjunct faculty member must meet the following criteria:

• A candidate must be employed by the College as an adjunct faculty member during Spring term of the award distribution.
• Full-time employees of the College who teach as adjunct faculty are not eligible.
• A candidate must have taught 4 out of the 7 most recent terms. (Fall, Spring, Summer)
• A candidate must have accumulated at least 375 contact hours and/or taught at least 10 courses or labs for the College.
• Candidates must be in good standing within their respective departments.

Adjunct professors who received this award within the past five years are excluded from eligibility.

Selection Criteria

Award recipients should be examples of excellence in teaching through the following criteria:

• Demonstrate commitment to high academic standards.
• Engage students in a relevant and meaningful way.
• Respect students, their ideas, and opinions.
• Retain subject matter expertise and enthusiasm.
• Participate in professional development activities.
• Adhere to College policy and procedure.

Application Packet: Materials Required

To be considered for an award, applicants will need to submit the 2026 Application Packet: (Due March 27, 2026) materials. Please be ready to include the following: 

• Name, Employee ID, department, and Dean.
• Statement of Consideration what makes you a great candidate for the AFAE.
• Statement of Teaching Philosophy or Approach to Teaching (300 word limit).
• Description of a class exercise or activity used to engage and/or motivate students.  Please include the results/lesson learned by you as the instructor and how it impacted future lessons/activities (300 word limit).
• List of Professional Development activities within the last 3 years.
• Curriculum Vitae or Resume.
• (Optional) Supporting Documentation  
  • Example: Letter(s) of support submitted by a faculty member(s) from the nominee's department or by any college employee (Maximum: 3)

Additional information will be collected for the Selection Committee:

• Four rounds of SPOI's from previous semesters (requested from IER by Faculty Center Director).
• Comments/Support from respective supervisor (online form).

2025 Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence Recipients

• Alan Gallant
• Emel Partridge
• Patricia Smith
• Elizabeth Trepanier
• Carlos Wightman 

Past Recipients