The Indiana University Kokomo Distinguished Research & Creative Activity Award recognizes outstanding faculty performance in research, scholarship, and creative activity, including the scholarship of teaching and learning. The award, which includes a $3,000 stipend and recognition at the annual campus Spring Convocation, is bestowed upon one faculty recipient each academic year.
All full-time tenure-track faculty members at IU Kokomo other than those who occupy an academic administrative post (i.e., Assistant/Associate Dean, Dean, Assistant/Associate VCAA) are eligible for this award.
Applicants must demonstrate outstanding performance in research, scholarship or creative activity during a period of not more than five academic years prior to the academic year in which they apply for the award.*
Only relevant work completed while a faculty member at IU Kokomo will be considered for the award.
Award recipients are eligible to re-apply for the award after a period of five academic years.
Faculty may not receive the Distinguished Research & Creative Activity Award and the Annual Research & Creative Activity Award in the same calendar year.
Applications for the Distinguished Research & Creative Activity Award are evaluated using three criteria of equal weight:
Quantity. The overall volume of relevant research, scholarly or creative activities meets academic unit and university standards for excellent productivity, evidence of which may include, but is not limited to:
Quality. The relevant research, scholarly or creative activity is disseminated through top-tier, peerreviewed publications and highly selective venues, evidence of which may include, but is not limited to:
Impact. The relevant research, scholarly or creative activity is influential and significant to the faculty member's discipline, including contributions to teaching and learning in that field, evidence of which may include but is not limited to:
Applications for the Distinguished Research & Creative Activity Award must be submitted as an accessible Word document with correctly formatted headings and hyperlinks, to the Office of Academic Affairs (koacadem@iu.edu) no later than October 15 of each year.
Applications should be in the form of a Narrative Summary not to exceed 12 single-spaced pages in length which thoroughly but succinctly provides an overview of the cumulative evidence of quantity, quality and impact to support a claim of distinguished performance.
The narrative should directly address the three award criteria, either in separate sections or a single integrated discussion that provides context, explanation and summation of relevant activities. The narrative should include bookmarks or embedded links to relevant information as needed to clarify or corroborate work completed.
Applications must include an up-to-date CV and a letter of support from the Dean which addresses the quantity, quality and impact of the faculty member’s research, scholarship or creative activities relative to that academic unit’s standards and expectations of productivity.
Applications may include a maximum of two solicited or unsolicited letters of support from external peer reviewers qualified to comment on the quantity, caliber, significance and influence of the faculty member’s cumulative research, scholarly or creative activities within the discipline or field.
Copies of letters of support, acceptance letters, articles, presentations, chapters, and any other relevant research, scholarly or creative activity evidence such as photos of exhibitions, promotional pieces, etc. should be submitted separately or linked within the Narrative Summary.
Applications are reviewed by the Faculty Research & Creative Activity Awards Committee, which makes a recommendation to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs no later than December 1.
The Awards Committee is composed of seven faculty members appointed by the EVCAA for one-year terms, based on nominations from academic Deans, with multiple and sequential terms permitted.
The School of Business, Division of Education, School of Nursing & Allied Health Professions, School of Sciences, and the Library may nominate one representative to the Awards Committee each year; the School of Humanities & Social Sciences may nominate two representatives each year.
Ideally, a majority of members of the Awards Committee will be tenured/tenure-track faculty with excellent records of research, scholarly or creative accomplishment. Previous award recipients are especially encouraged to serve. Typically, no more than two Committee members will be pre-tenured faculty.
Applicants for the award may not serve on the Awards Committee in the year of their application. Committee members should recuse themselves from deliberations regarding applicants with whom they have collaborated on research, scholarly or creative projects that are part of their application.
The Awards Committee recommendation to the EVCAA should include a rationale and/or ranking, and a summary of each applicant’s strengths or areas for improvement relative to the three award criteria. The final selection of award recipients rests with the EVCAA.
The Awards Committee may decline to recommend, and the EVCAA may decline to bestow the award if no applicants in a given academic year are judged to have met the standards of productivity and distinguished performance associated with this recognition.
Office of Academic Affairs Spring 2026
Indiana University Kokomo
765-453-2000