Faculty Awards

SDSU Faculty Awards

Each year, San Diego State University recognizes outstanding faculty who have contributed the most to the university or on behalf of the university in such categories as teaching, distinguished scholarship or professional activity, or other exceptional service. The awardees each receive a monetary award from the SDSU Alumni Association and are recognized at Convocation in the Fall. 

Alumni Award Nomination Form

Alumni Award Nomination Timeline

Faculty (including librarians, coaches and counselors, Global Campus faculty excepted under the terms of the contract) may apply for up to three (3) WTUs assigned time for activities conducted during the 2025/2026 academic year or planned for the 2026/2027 academic year, so long as this service is not already supported by assigned time.

Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (20.37), “Exceptional service awards are intended to recognize faculty who have a demonstrated commitment to working on issues faced by our diverse student population. Assigned time from this pool should be awarded to faculty for mentoring, advising, and outreach, to support underserved, first-generation, and / or underrepresented students and other practices in support of such students, including those caused by cultural taxation.  This support includes but is not limited to:

  • Development and implementation of high-impact educational practices
  • Curricular redesign intended to improve student access and success
  • Service to the department, college, university, or community that goes significantly beyond the normal expectations of all faculty
  • Assignment to courses where increases in enrollment have demonstrably increased workload
  • Other extraordinary forms of service to students

Assigned Time for Exceptional Service 2026-27 Application Form

The CSU Wang Family Excellence Award recognizes four outstanding faculty members and one outstanding administrator who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements.

General Criteria
  • Awards will be made to those who have made truly remarkable contributions to the advancement of their respective universities and/or the CSU system.
  • Nominees should have a demonstrated record of unusually meritorious achievements documented by evidence of superior accomplishments and contributions to a discipline or achievements in an assignment in the respective award area.
  • The activities must advance the mission of the university, bring benefit and credit to the CSU, and contribute to the enhancement of the CSU’s excellence in teaching, learning, research, scholarly pursuits, student support, and community contributions.
  • More specific criteria for each award may be found below in Wang Award Categories.
Eligibility
  • Candidates must be probationary or tenured faculty members at SDSU.
  • Faculty members nominated for the award must have participated successfully in a campus peer academic administrative review process, such as the reappointment, tenure, and/or promotion or a faculty merit award in teaching, research, scholarship. These reviews must have occurred no earlier than the 2021-2022 academic year.
  • Previous Wang Family Excellence Award recipients are not eligible for a subsequent nomination.
Nomination Process

Nominations are due to Faculty Advancement and Student Success October 15, 2026. Please be prepared to upload a copy of your nominee's c.v. to the nomination form.

CSU Wang Family Excellence Award Categories

The Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member who models excellence in teaching.

Criteria:

  • Utilizes exemplary pedagogy, including creativity and innovation in curriculum development and teaching methods.
  • Serves as a teacher leader both on and off campus, with a demonstrable impact on students and colleagues.
  • Pursues the scholarship of teaching, translating teaching-and-learning research into practice, and submitting teaching to professional scrutiny.

The Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in research, scholarship, and/or creative activities in the field.

Criteria:

  • Significant contributions to scholarly knowledge in research, creative works and other products of scholarly activity. Examples include publications in journals and books (including those works with undergraduates), creative writing, visual arts, composition, artistic performance, awarded external grants/fellowships and presentations at symposia and conferences.
  • Research, scholarship or creative work has a critical impact on the community or on a local, state, national or international problem.

The Outstanding Faculty Service Award recognizes a faculty member who excels in service to the university and the larger community.

Criteria:

  • Demonstrates superior service to the university through committee work, governance bodies and related activities, and administrative support.
  • Engages in impactful service to external stakeholders including federal, state and local governments; business and industry; and professional, public and private not-for-profit organizations. These activities may utilize the faculty member’s professional expertise or the faculty member may be participating as a university representative.
  • Contributes to the university’s efforts to enhance equal opportunity cultural diversity and close the student equity gaps.

The Outstanding Faculty Innovator in Student Success Award recognizes a faculty member whose outstanding contributions are significantly improving student success.

Criteria:

  • Remarkable commitment to student success beyond their own classroom and discipline demonstrated through evidence-based results.
  • Develops, implements and shares techniques, practices and/or technologies that transform the student experience and improve outcomes for student success.
  • Utilizes creative and exemplary teaching practices and supports positive faculty-student relationships that inspire excellence and student success.