Academy of Educators Membership Renewal 2012

RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP PROCESS

The renewal of membership application process for the Academy of Educators (AOE) is outlined below. The goals of the Academy are to:

1. Promote and support excellence in teaching and the work and career paths of excellent teachers.
2. Promote and fund curricular innovation, evidence-based curricular change and a scholarly approach to the education mission.
3. Provide a forum for education leadership and advice for the Dean, Vice Dean for Medical Education, and for the leadership of the curriculum.

The AOE, which started in 2007, now has 180 members.  Each Academy member has a time-limited membership.  In 2011, we will be asking approximately half of the members who were appointed to the Academy in 2007 to renew their membership.  Members who wish to change their membership from Associate Fellow or Senior Associate Fellow to Fellow, must follow the same application process as those applicants who are applying for membership for the first time (please see the document on Application for Membership).  Those current members who wish to leave their membership at the current level (Associate, Senior Associate, or Fellow) or change their appointment to Associate or Senior Associate Fellow, can apply for renewal using the Renewal of Membership process described below.

2012 APPLICATION TIMELINE

• Tuesday, January  10, 2012 – Call for nominations goes to all SOM chairs and all faculty.  All nominations must come from the chair, but interested faculty members are encouraged to discuss with their chair.  The nomination can take the form of an e-mail, naming the nominated faculty member, sent to Ms. Vickie Cecil and either Dr. Rao or Dr. Byerley.  [Of note, members who will be renewing their membership at the current level or moving to Associate or Senior Associate Fellow will need only a brief additional letter of support from their chair.]
• Friday, January 20, 2012 – Deadline for nominations from department chairs.  .
• Friday, February 17, 2012 – Deadline for receiving completed applications from all nominees.
• March, 2011 - Selection Committee meets to select new members and approve renewal of current members
• Late March/Early April, 2012 – New members and re-appointed members are announced.
• May 16, 2012 – Annual Evening of Educational Scholarship and induction of new members

NOMINATION PROCESS

All nominations for Academy membership or renewal of membership must come from the candidate’s departmental chair.  Interested individuals are encouraged to ask their chairs to nominate them.

The departmental chair must send an e-mail to Vickie Cecil ( vickie_cecil@med.unc.edu ) and either Beat Steiner (beat_steiner@med.unc.edu) or Julie Byerley ( julie_byerley@med.unc.edu )  naming the faculty members that they wish to nominate for membership or renewal of membership in the Academy by January 20, 2012.  No details about the qualifications or accomplishments of the nominees need be included in this e-mail.

Successful applicants will need to document accomplishments in ONE or more of the following five areas:

• Direct teaching of medical students and/or residents and mentoring of other teachers
• Instructional development and curriculum design
• Student/resident advising and mentoring
• Educational administration and leadership
• Educational research

Academy membership will be awarded to faculty members who demonstrate excellence in teaching over the course of the most recent five years based on student, resident and peer assessments.

Membership will also be awarded to faculty members who demonstrate leadership by playing a major role in curriculum management and/or innovation as evidenced by chairing major committees, directing courses and/or engaging in education scholarship.

APPLICATION MATERIALS

All materials should be submitted electronically no later than 5 pm on February 17, 2012 to Vickie Cecil, [vickie_cecil@med.unc.edu].  Letters of recommendation should be submitted as e-mail attachments sent directly from the office of the individual writing the letter.

1. Submit an updated CV.  Applicants are asked to use the highlighting function in Word to highlight activities, awards, and publications that should be considered in support of this application.
2. Request a brief letter of support from your department chair.  If the renewing member is asking for reappointment at the current level of membership, or at the level of Senior Associate Fellow, the chair’s letter can be brief, and does not need to include teaching evaluations or other supporting documentation.
3. Send a brief letter requesting renewal of your membership and indicating whether you are requesting that your appointment be renewed at the current rank or changed to Associate or Senior Associate Fellow.  [A request to change the level of appointment to Fellow, must be made by submitting a full application (as required for initial appointment to the Academy of Educators), including a more detailed letter of support from your department chair. ]

List AOE activities that you have participated in over the last 4 years, and tell us which activities you would like to participate in during your future years as an Academy member.  (Academy activities include: attendance at Quarterly Meetings, membership on committees or task forces, attendance at or giving a Faculty Development session, participation in Academy surveys, applicant for or recipient of an Academy minigrant or travel award, etc).   Of note, whether or not you have participated in AOE activities during the past will not affect your eligibility for membership renewal in this cycle.  We are considering, however, whether participation should be a requirement for continued membership going forward.  This is a continuing discussion, and we would appreciate your input.