Mrs. A.B. "Dolly" Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching

Dolly Cohen created the annual award for teaching excellence at UC in the early 1960’s. The Mrs. A.B. "Dolly" Cohen Award focuses on teaching excellence.

• Nominees must be in at least the seventh year of full-time teaching at the University of Cincinnati. 
• Although there are no absolute criteria as to what constitutes excellence in teaching, the following list is suggested. Qualities apt to be exhibited by a Cohen awardee: 
  • Is committed to teaching and regards it as a primary function of the university 
  • Has successfully taught a variety of courses 
  • Demonstrates creative approaches to teaching 
  • Shows respect for diversity of opinions and experiences of students 
  • Demonstrates sensitivity to individual differences and multicultural needs of students 
  • Maintains high but attainable standards of performance 
  • Stimulates independent work by students that leads them to be creative, self-directed learners 
  • Establishes a classroom atmosphere that fosters self-confidence, a positive self-concept, and mutual respect.
• A nominee may be a candidate for only one award: if a person is nominated for both the Cohen Award and the Barbour Award, the nominee must choose the award for which he/she/they wishes to be considered. 
• By tradition, individuals who have previously won these awards have been considered ineligible to win the same award a second time. 

Recipients are recognized at the UC Faculty Awards Ceremony, receive a plaque and an award of $2,000, and have their names added to the Hall of Achievement in the TUC.

• Having won the Mrs. A.B. “Dolly” Cohen Award does not preclude winning the George Barbour Award 
• Individuals who were nominated in the past, but did not win, may be nominated again, but are encouraged to update their files 
• Nominations from previous years are not automatically carried over to the next year without new nominations 

• (Students or Alumni) Nomination Materials Due: Tuesday, October 3, 2023
  
• (Nominated Faculty) Dossier Submissions Due: Monday, November 20, 2023
  

Nominations may come only from students and alumni and must not be solicited by faculty or administrators. Nominations should be submitted through the Cohen Award Nomination Form. 

Once the nominee’s eligibility is confirmed, they will be informed of the requirement for an electronic dossier to be compiled and submitted.

Nominated faculty may then submit a single PDF electronic dossier file before the deadline using the Faculty Application for the Cohen Award form.

The electronic dossier, which must be submitted electronically in a single PDF format should consist of the following documentation in the order indicated:

• The department head and/or college dean's cover letter 
• The student/alumnus(a) nominating materials 
• In addition to the above, include no more than 25 numbered pages containing: 
  • A 1–3-page reflection, written by the nominee, that describes and illustrates the nominee's excellence in teaching (this should include the nominee's philosophy of teaching) 
  • An abbreviated personal vita, stating past and current faculty status not to exceed 3 pages 
  • A list (not necessarily complete) of courses taught at UC 
  • A summary of numerical and/or written class evaluations  
    • Evaluations from students and peers outside of the nominee’s area are useful 
  • Quotations (not paraphrases) from student letters/comments with examples of at least 3 and not more than 5 complete letters 
    • Dates should be included in the letters whenever possible 
  • Quotations (not paraphrases) from peer letters/comments with examples of at least 3 and not more than 5 complete letters 
  • Any additional evidence felt important, e.g., involvement with students outside of class or with student groups, publications related to teaching, teaching artifacts (an original syllabus, innovative assignments, etc.) 
• An Appendix: 
  • All documents from which quotations are taken must be included in their entirety as the electronic appendix.  
  • The appendix does not count in the 25-page limit on the electronic dossier.  
  • Since the dossier itself is the primary basis for the evaluation of a nominee's qualifications, the appendix serves only as a supplement.  
  • The committee strongly suggests that nominees avoid the temptation to inflate the dossier by placing either redundant or extraneous materials in the appendix.  
  • There is no relationship between the size of the appendix and winning an award.  
  • Copies of books and offprints of articles should be not included in the dossier.  
  • The evaluation Committee is under no obligation to consider appended materials