Dean's Awards

The Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Awards recognize superior performance and outstanding accomplishments over and above normal expectations.

The Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences will invite nominations once each academic year. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 14, 2025. Nominations can be sent to deanofhss@mun.ca.

Eligibility & Criteria
  1. All employees of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) are eligible to be considered for a Dean’s Award, with the exception of the Dean, Associate Deans, and Heads. Individuals who have retired from tenured faculty positions in the FHSS are eligible for the William J. Kirwin Award. Relevant community-based locales and groups are eligible under the Research Partner Award.
  2. A nomination should emphasize evidence of achievement substantially above expected norms. While accomplishments over the course of an entire career will be taken into consideration, emphasis is placed on the period (usually six years) that precedes the year of nomination.
  3. Additional criteria are outlined under each award.
  4. Monetary awards will be administered as per University policy.
  5. An individual may not receive the same award more than once in a six year period.
Nomination process
  1. The Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences will invite nominations once each academic year. Nominations are due by March 14, 2025. 
  2. To nominate someone, fill out the HSS Dean's Awards Nomination Form and email the nomination to or drop off in hard copy at the Dean's office.
  3. A nomination is prepared by a sole nominator and is comprised of the candidate’s curriculum vitae (or résumé) and a maximum 750-word letter that provides a rationale and summarizes key points supporting the nomination compiled from relevant materials.  Nominations will be accepted from department heads, faculty members or staff from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Self-nominations are not eligible.
  4.  There is no limit on the number of nominations that can be submitted from specific units.
Adjudication of nominations
  1. The Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences will ask the Heads of Departments in FHSS to evaluate and rank all nominations and to make recommendations.
  2. Final decisions on Dean’s Awards rest with the Dean. Not all awards are necessarily awarded every year.

Dean's Award categories

Award for Teaching Excellence

  • Tenure-track and tenured instructors
  • Non-tenure-track instructors

The Dean’s Awards for Teaching Excellence recognize superior performance in one or more areas of teaching: classroom teaching, curriculum or programme development or the advancement of teaching practice in HSS.

Up to two awards are made in this category, one for tenured and tenure-track faculty members, and a second for non tenure-track instructors. Department heads are encouraged to solicit recommendations of individuals to nominate from among students doing undergraduate majors, minors, or honours, or graduate programs in their departments.

Recipients of a Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence shall receive a framed certificate and an award of $500.

Award for Graduate Supervision

The Dean’s Award for Graduate Supervision recognizes excellence in graduate student supervision in HSS.

Department heads are encouraged to solicit recommendations of individuals to nominate from among graduate students in their departments. This award will take into consideration the various roles played by outstanding graduate supervisors including, but not restricted to, the following: general mentoring of students; guiding students in designing and carrying out their research, and in completing their degrees; involving students in research opportunities; helping students with publications (or, when appropriate, co-authoring with students); helping students secure scholarships and research funding; and preparing students for a successful career.

Recipients of a Dean’s Award for Graduate Supervision shall receive a framed certificate and an award of $500.

Award for Distinguished Scholarship

The Dean’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship recognizes a body of published scholarly work of excellent national or international standing.

Recipients of a Dean’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship shall receive a framed certificate and an award of $500.

Award for Exceptional Service

(Tenure-track and tenured faculty members)

The Dean’s Award for Academic Service recognizes a record of academic service, within or outside HSS, whose extent and quality significantly surpass accepted norms.

Recipients of a Dean’s Award for Academic Service shall receive a framed certificate and an award of $500.

Award for Exceptional Service to the Faculty

(Staff)

The Dean’s Award for Exceptional Service to the Faculty recognizes a record of service to HSS that is demonstrably superior to that normally expected of staff members. Nominees must have a minimum of a total of 12 months service in HSS.

Recipients of a Dean’s Award for Exceptional Service to the Faculty shall receive a framed certificate and an award of $500.

The William J. Kirwin Award for Retiree Recognition

William J. Kirwin Award recognizes those retirees from tenured faculty positions in HSS who have continued on with outstanding and noteworthy research and/or engagement activities.

Recipients of The William J. Kirwin Award shall receive a framed certificate and an award of $500.

Research Partner Award

The Dean’s Research Partner Award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made a significant contribution to an HSS research project. Drawing on the University Public Engagement Framework, eligible recipients (public partners and collaborators) include:

“Those from non-governmental organizations, community groups, businesses, governments, and often, informal collections of individuals linked by a common cause. Memorial’s network ranges from people in local communities to collaborators around the world.” 

The research must have taken place within the last six years. Special consideration will be given to partners or collaborators based in Newfoundland and Labrador. In lieu of a CV or resumé, the letter of nomination should describe the specific ways in which the partner contributed to or enabled the research as well as how the non-University public has benefited from the research project.

Recipients of the Research Partner Award shall receive a framed certificate.

Dean's Award Archive

To see a list of previous Dean's Award winners, check out the Dean's Award archive.