The McCalla Professorship

The McCalla Professors are outstanding academics who have made (and continue to make) significant contributions to the integration of teaching and research, and educational leadership. The professorship gives candidates an opportunity to further combine their teaching and research in ways that are mutually beneficial. For example, academics may propose a project that uses their disciplinary research to enrich their teaching in innovative ways and/or study the effectiveness of their novel teaching and learning methods. The McCalla Professorship also provides recipients with a venue for further educational leadership through the McCalla Professor Group.

Individual submissions from members of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) for the McCalla are to be sent to the Office of Education, FoMD. There is an adjudication process within the Faculty (review by a panel of previous Faculty McCalla Professors) and successful submissions will be forwarded by the Office of Education, FoMD to the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic).

Funds in the amount of $20,000 (total) will be available for approved projects and activities. These funds may be used for a variety of purposes and in a combination of ways, (e.g., hiring a graduate teaching or research assistant, developing a new teaching technology, travel to conferences, partial payment of a post-doctoral fellow, or to give the professor time for the project with release from other duties). No portion of the award may be taken as salary. Funds are held by the University and spent as outlined in the approved application and in accordance with University of Alberta policies and procedures. The Provost and Vice-President (Academic) may request the return of unspent funds following completion of the Professorship.

All Associate and Full Professors are eligible for a McCalla Professorship. McCalla Professorships will be awarded only once in a faculty member's career.

For more information about the McCalla Professorship, please contact:
Dr. Shirley Schipper, Vice-Dean, Education
Email: shirley.schipper@ualberta.ca
Tel: 780-492-5995.

Application Procedure for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

Due: Noon Friday, January 31, 2020

Submit to: Jocelyn Plemel at jplemel@ualberta.ca (Administrative Assistant to the VDE)

References: For a full outline of the Terms of Reference and more information on application and selection, please visit: UAPPOL Procedure

Submissions should include the following information and be presented in the following order:

A letter of support from your Chair

Please note: If the faculty member has cross appointments, they must have written support from all the areas/departments

The letter of support should include:

  • Include a short list of points at the beginning of the letter highlighting the candidate's key contributions and innovations in teaching, research and educational leadership, and how these contributions benefit the Faculty and the institution
  • Address the quality of the proposed application
  • How the application fits within Departmental/Faculty priorities and the University mission
  • State why the Professorship would benefit the faculty member at this time in their career

In addition it should include the context for the award application including:

  • The extent of teaching
  • The current research program
  • The extent of educational leadership

An outline of the project or activities planned for the award period. (not to exceed 3 pages)

The outline of the project or activities planned should include:

  • Describing priorities, objectives and expected outcomes for the project and related activities
  • Commenting on how the application aligns with For the Public Good
  • Outlining how the funds will be used (a detailed budget is not required)

Highlights of a teaching dossier (not to exceed 4 pages).

For consultation to prepare a teaching dossier, consult with the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

The abbreviated teaching dossier should include:

  • A statement of the philosophy of teaching, prepared by the nominee. [Nominees may wish to consult with CTL for further advice on preparing a teaching dossier.]
  • A synthesis of evaluations of courses taught in the last five (5) years with course title, course level, dates and class size
  • Evidence for Teaching Excellence (which may include):
    • A description of effective teaching strategies: examples of effective strategies showing reflection and change over time (why change was needed, what was done, rationale behind the changes, evidence for their effectiveness, a description of the learning outcomes)
    • Teaching awards
    • A description of course development efforts: examples of excellence in the (re)design of new courses (why change was needed, what was done, what is unique about the change and what is the evidence for its effectiveness?)
Highlights of a research dossier (not to exceed 4 pages). The research dossier should include:
  • A description of the nominee's program of research
  • A list of recent (last 5 years) grant support, specifying agency, amount of award and title of project
  • A list of top 5 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supervised and a description of their career trajectory. If applicants do not have access to graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, they must describe how they engage in mentoring students in research at the undergraduate level

Highlights of an educational leadership and service dossier (not to exceed 4 pages).

The educational leadership and service dossier should include:

  • A description of engagement in leadership or service activities
  • A description of how these activities link to the applicant's disciplinary research and/or teaching
  • A description of the benefits of the activities to students, peers, the institution, and/or community-at-large
  • A description of recognition or awards received for leadership or service

An abbreviated curriculum vitae (not to exceed 10 pages)

NOTE: The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry has been awarded one McCalla Professorship for the 2020-21 academic year by the Provost's Office

See the University's McCalla Professorship webpage for more information.

Past FoMD award winners