A. Purpose of the Honorary Award Program

• This Developing Specialized Faculty (DSF) award recognizes the outstanding research and/or creative activity of eligible Florida State University faculty (refer to section C. Eligibility for a list of applicable job codes).
• This award program recognizes successful FSU specialized faculty members who are several years into their careers, and is intended to identify and honor FSU's future research/scholar/scientist leaders.
• Departments and/or centers are encouraged to nominate only one candidate for this award. If multiple candidates are nominated, the Chair, Director, or Dean will be contacted to rank order their candidates (no ties) for reviewers.

B. Award Information

• The one-time award amount of $10,000 is to be used to promote the awardee's program of research and creativity during the academic year subsequent to the award's presentation.
• Awardees will be recognized at the annual Faculty Awards Dinner, which is generally scheduled in the late Spring.
• The award may be used for OPS expenses, research-related travel and supplies, and graduate student support (including fringe benefits); a budget plan is not required.
• The DSF award does not support faculty salary.

C. Eligibility

• Eligibility is limited to faculty who began serving in one of the job titles listed below no earlier than August 2022 (at least 2 years). Contributions and noteworthy accomplishments since joining the faculty at FSU should be emphasized in the nomination information.
• Allowable job titles for the DSF award:
  • 90819S Research Faculty II 9 Mo SAL
  • 9081AS Research Faculty II 12 Mo SAL
  • 91619S Assoc. Scholar/Scientist 9 Mo SAL
  • 9161AS Assoc. Scholar/Scientist 12 Mo SAL
  • 91679S Associate in Research 9 Mo SAL
  • 9167AS Associate in Research 12 Mo SAL
  • 90619S Teaching Faculty II 9 Mo SAL
  • 9061AS Teaching Faculty II 12 Mo SAL

D. Important Dates for the 2024 - 2025 Round

• Nomination Deadline: Thursday, December 19, 2024 @ 4:59 pm
• Award Notification: Mid April 2025
• Award Period: July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026

E. Selection Criteria

• It is preferred that Departments or Centers nominate at most one candidate for this award. If a Department or Center does choose to nominate multiple candidates, then they must be rank-ordered by the nominating Department/Center, with no ties (so that such candidates are ranked by those who have the best knowledge of their work).
• Candidates will have made a significant impact on the ongoing research/scholarship in their respective unit.
• There should be evidence of the following:
  • Candidate's outstanding scholarly productivity and/or creative activity
  • Recognition and honors related to research and/or creative activity
  • Research and/or creative activity that has begun to earn external recognition. Examples of these are:
    • • Positions on editorial board of leading academic journals
      • Selection for review panels of funding agencies
      • Ability to attract federal and foundation support for research and creative activity
      • Publications in the leading journals, high quality book presses, museum catalogues, or critical reviews from important venues
      • Artistic performance in leading locations
      • Strong letters of recommendation by clearly distinguished scholars, referees, or art critics.
• Not to be included among the selection criteria are such factors as sex, race, field of specialization, Department, School or College, outside activities, previous accomplishments in other fields or positions, whether or not the candidate is applying for other campus awards (i.e. Seed grant, sabbatical), and whether other members from the same Department or Center have been selected for awards during the year or in the past.

F. Nomination Preparation Instructions

IMPORTANT: Nominators must initiate the electronic nomination binders on behalf of the nominee. The only exceptions are for self-nominations. Once the nomination has been created, additional editors (including the nominee) can be added to assist with uploading the necessary information.

• Only a PDF version of each document will be accepted.
• Go to Section H. Nomination Submission Process for instructions on how to apply.
• Below are the required sub-sections for each candidate:

Letter of Nomination

• A letter of nomination, addressed to the DSF Award Review Committee, from an FSU faculty member (who may be the nominee — self-nominations are acceptable) or an FSU administrator addressing the selection criteria (Section E).
• Departments and Centers are encouraged to nominate only one candidate for this award. If multiple candidates are nominated, the Chair or Director will be contacted to rank order their candidates (no ties) for reviewers.
• If someone other than the nominee is the nomination letter author, the author must include their CV (2 page maximum).

Internal Letters of Endorsement

• Internal letters of endorsement, addressed to the DSF Award Review Committee, are required from the Departmental Chair or Director (if applicable) and Dean.
• Submission will not be accepted without both letters, where applicable.

External Letters of Endorsement

• No more than three external letters of recommendation from established scholars with a direct relationship to or knowledge of the nominee are allowed. The external letters of recommendation must have been written no earlier than 24 months prior to the application deadline, as verified by the dates that appear on them (which are required).
• These letters must include a separate, single-paragraph statement on the qualifications of the letter authors as well as a brief 2-page CV from the letter authors.

Description of Research & Creative Activity

• A clear, complete, and non-technical description of a systematic program of research and creative activity which includes a summary of what has been accomplished during the previous five to six years.

Description of Future Direction

• A description of future direction, goals, and anticipated accomplishments comprised of the nominee's research and/or creativity program.

Curriculum Vitae

• The nominee's vitae should be current, concise, and complete. It should contain reasonable documentation of grants, awards, publications, exhibitions, and performances (i.e. dates, locations, page numbers, co-authorship, publication status). Indicate with an asterisk (or by some other means) those publications or presentations that were selected through a formal independent referee or competitive process, or that are invitational opportunities tantamount to awards or honors (i.e. invitation to participate in the Paris Biennale).

List of Additional Material

• A list of additional materials or websites may be submitted that would lend support to the candidate's nomination. The CRC does not want articles or books submitted, but reserve the right to call for these if needed in determining the final selections.

G. Research Compliance

Typically, research compliance approvals are not necessary for DSF nominations since a specific project is not being proposed.

However, any future proposals utilizing DSF funding are subject to compliance requirements as determined by the individual proposal scope. Research activities requiring compliance review and approvals (Human or Animal Subjects, DNA, RNA, Hazardous Materials, or Marine Lab facilities) require the completion and submission of forms to the appropriate FSU department or group. 

• For more information about the requirements of each Research Compliance area, see our FAQs.

H. Nomination Submission Process

• Go to the InfoReady Submission Portal.
• The nominator will need to login using their FSU username and password.

I. Nomination Review Process

• The DSF Review Committee consists of selected CRC members and previous Distinguished University Scholar (DUS) awardees.  
• Reviewers will use the Developing Specialized Faculty (DSF) Reviewer Guidelines for scoring the nomination.
• The Review Committee will recommend the finalists to the Vice President for Research and the University President based on the funding allocated to the program and merit scores of each nomination.
• The Vice President for Research and the University President will make the final decisions regarding the award recipients.

J. Award Terms & Conditions

• Developing Specialized Faculty awards can only be used to support research and creative activity.
• The Developing Specialized Faculty award does not support faculty salary.
• Faculty and their departments must adhere to the Terms and Conditions outlined and accepted in the award application. The Standard CRC Terms + Conditions of Award document can also be found in the program documents. 
• Time extensions require the prior approval of the CRC (limit 1 per award). Any request and justification for a time extension should be submitted to the Time Extension and Budget Amendment Submission page at least 30 days prior to the award expiration date; requests submitted within 30 days of the award end date will not be considered.
• Only one time extension is permitted per project; a 90-day extension will be automatically granted upon request. Time extension requests for greater than 90 days will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

K. Grant Close-Out

• Sponsored Research will begin financial closeout of the award will automatically within 60 days following the award period end date.
• Time extensions are permitted but require the prior approval of the CRC. Additional information can be found in the Standard CRC Terms + Conditions of Award document.

L. Return of Funds

• PIs who later find that they have funding from another source for similar or the same support are requested to decline acceptance of this award so that funds can be redirected to provide support for other applicants who would otherwise go unfunded.
• In the event that a PI leaves the university, involuntarily or voluntarily, prior to the end of the award period, the awardee’s Dean or Department Chair has the responsibility of notifying the CRC Program Manager and returning the remaining award amount to the CRC.
• Faculty members who receive CRC funds during a sabbatical will be asked to repay those funds if they leave the university during the year following the award.