Q. How is “early career faculty” defined in relation to the Lynton Award?

A.  Faculty must be full-time and either on a tenure track or in a contract system. Faculty on the tenure track are eligible only if they are pre-tenure and faculty in contract systems should not be beyond their sixth year. We understand that there may be slight variations in contract system specific to certain institutions, and we encourage those with questions about eligibility to contact [email protected]. 

Q.  Is a faculty member who has submitted tenure materials for review prior to the Lynton Award application deadline eligible for the Award?

A. No. The Award is designed for faculty prior to coming up for tenure.

Q. Is the Award specific to faculty from the New England region?

A. The Award is open to faculty at higher education institutions anywhere in the United States.

Q. Is the Award designated for faculty from specific institutional types?

A. Faculty from all not-for-profit institutional types are eligible for the Award.

Q. Is the Lynton Award a service-learning award?

A. The Lynton Award does not privilege community engagement in either teaching, research, or service, but recognizes scholarly engagement that is integrated across all of the faculty roles.

Q. Who can serve as nominators for the Award?

A. Nominations can be made by academic colleagues, administrators, students, and community partners.

Q. Can a group of people nominate a faculty member for the Award?

A. Yes. Multiple people can submit and single application for the nomination of a faculty member. In such cases, one person should be designated as the primary nominator, who will be responsible for completing and submitting the application. Additional nominators can be noted in the appropriate section of the application.

Q. Can more than one faculty member be nominated from a single institution?

A. More than one faculty member from a single college or university may be nominated. Please complete separate applications for each nominee.

Q. Is there a monetary component to the Award?

A. Recipients do not receive a monetary award.

Q. Are there certain values associated with the Award?

A. The Lynton Award is undergirded by three values:

•   Reciprocity: The core value of reciprocity involves knowledge generation as a process of co-creation, breaking down the distinctions between knowledge producers and knowledge consumers. It further implies scholarly work that is conducted with shared authority and power with those in the community at all stages of the research process, from defining the research problem, choosing theoretical and methodological approaches, conducting the research, developing the final products, and participating in peer evaluation.

•   Democracy:  A central aspect of the scholarship of engagement is a commitment to facilitating the involvement of individuals in the community as participants in the larger public culture of democracy.

•   Social Justice: The Award honors the work of faculty committed to social justice that acknowledges the need for authentic educational responses to the challenges of the contemporary world, including, but not limited to generational poverty and prejudice, a degraded environment, and an educational system that continues to operate on an uneven playing field.

Q. With reference to the Lynton Award application, what are some examples of impacts that the nominees work can have on theory and practice, as well as on various structures and entities?

A.  Examples include:

•   Intellectual contributions-e.g., impact on knowledge, theory and practice, through innovative approaches in making community engagement a distinguishing, integral feature of teaching, research/creative activity. Examples include publications, presentations, or performances addressing the scholarly aspects of community engagement; evidence of how the nominee's work contributed to a deeper understanding of the concepts and/or practice of community engagement.

•   Institutionalization of community engagement -e.g., deepening and increasing community-based practice through developing campus projects and/or programs involving faculty and students in new and important ways; Examples include evidence beyond individual teaching, research/creative activity, and service, that the nominee influenced their department, college, and or institution to incorporate community engagement into institutional culture and identity.

•   Department-e.g., providing workshops on innovative pedagogical approaches to community engagement; development of model projects or pilot courses based on community engagement.

•   College/School-e.g., development of model projects or pilot courses based on community engagement that are linked to curricular change; obtaining external funding that supports community engaged teaching, research/creative activity, and service.

•   Colleagues-e.g., formal and informal mentoring and consulting; cross-disciplinary community engaged teaching and learning, research/creativity, and service.

•   External community-e.g., evidence of involving community partners in institutional organizations structure (for example, campus advisory committees) related to campus community partnerships.

Q. Whom do I contact for more information about the Lynton Award application process?

A. Questions regarding the application process should be addressed to the Lynton Award Coordinator, Elaine Ward, at Merrimack College’s School of Education and Social Policy by email at [email protected] (subject line: “Lynton Award Help”) or by phone at (781) 812-9112.