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Application window open for university teaching awards

Mississippi State is accepting applications for the 2025 Grisham Master Teacher, Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence and the Alumni Association Graduate and/or Professional Teaching Excellence awards.

Visit for more information and to download documents associated with the submission process.

Interested faculty must submit an electronic application in PDF form to the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President (e-mail grishamaward@provost.msstate.edu) by Oct. 27 if their teaching can only be observed in the fall 2024 semester or by Jan. 5 if their teaching can be observed in the spring 2025 semester. All current full-time faculty members at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵwith the required years of service, regardless of rank, are eligible to apply for these awards. Late applications will not be accepted.

To lessen burdens on Department Heads or others and give applicants more responsibility and control in the process, applicants may manage and submit their own applications. Nominees should submit a letter of nomination (two-page maximum) and a limit of five letters (one-page maximum each) of support, with at least two from faculty and at least two from students. In addition, nominees will include a summary of course evaluations using the template provided on the provost office website. The cover page lists other documents to include in your application.

Normally, applicants are evaluated and observed in the spring semester. For applicants who can only be observed in the fall 2024 semester, the Oct. 27 deadline is necessary to allow preliminary evaluation of the application and have time for classroom observation if warranted. For applicants whose classroom teaching can be observed in the spring 2025 semester, the deadline for receiving applications is Jan. 5.

The University Distinguished Teaching Awards Committee will review the applications and recommend winners to the provost, who will award up to three Grisham Awards, up to four Early Career Awards and up to two Graduate and Professional Awards.

Eligibility Requirements

• You must be teaching at least one course during either fall 2024 or spring 2025 to allow for in-class or online observation, which is required to be eligible for any award.
• To be eligible for the Grisham Master Teacher Award, applicants must have at least seven years of experience already completed at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵteaching primarily undergraduates.
• To be eligible for the Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, applicants must have three to six years of experience already completed at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵteaching primarily undergraduates.
• To be eligible for the Alumni Association Graduate and/or Professional Teaching Excellence Award, applicants must have a minimum of three years of experience already completed at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵteaching primarily graduate students or professionals.

Applicants will be evaluated on criteria such as the engagement of students in learning, assessment of teaching and learning, clarity and organization of teaching, variety of teaching methods, enthusiasm, scholarship of teaching and professional presentation of the application. Finalists will be observed teaching their classes, in person or synchronous online. An application cover sheet and instructions are available at under the announcements section.

After careful review, the provost’s office will announce the winners before the end of the academic year. Strongest consideration will be given to those applicants who carefully follow the application packet requirements and succeed in clearly documenting and demonstrating their mastery of outstanding teaching. 

We are deeply grateful to Mr. and Mrs. John Grisham, the Zacharias Endowment and to ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAlumni Association for their support of these highly prestigious teaching awards.