The Distinguished Faculty Awards are presented annually by the Academic Senate.
Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research (Est. 1975)
The recipients of the Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research must be members of the Academic Senate at the rank of Professor VI or above when nominated, who have made a significant contribution through research that has had a major influence on the discipline, either through a career-long record of contributions, or through an influential/germinal contribution.
Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research (Est. 2002)
The recipients of the Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research must be members of the Academic Senate from the rank of Associate Professor through Professor V when nominated, who have made outstanding contributions in their discipline through their research.
Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Research (Est. 1994)
The recipients of the Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Research must be members of the Academic Senate at the rank of Assistant Professor when nominated, who have made outstanding contributions in their discipline through their research.
Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching (Est. 1986)
The recipients of the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching must be members of the Academic Senate at the rank of Associate Professor or above when nominated, who have made extraordinary contributions to the educational mission of the campus through distinguished teaching, including development of novel teaching and learning approaches, or have otherwise been remarkably effective in making the substance and excitement of their discipline available to students.
Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Teaching (Est. 1994)
The recipients of the Distinguished Early-Career Faculty Award for Teaching must be members of the Academic Senate at the rank of Assistant Professor when nominated, who have made extraordinary contributions to the educational mission of the campus through distinguished teaching, including development of novel teaching and learning approaches, or have otherwise been remarkably effective in making the substance and excitement of their discipline available to students.
Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished University Service Award (Est. 1990)
The recipients of the Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Distinguished University Service Award must be members of the Academic Senate at the rank of Professor Step VI or above when nominated, who are respected scholars, and who, at some point in their careers, have made outstanding contributions of service to the University of California, and/or public service. An outstanding contribution is not defined simply as having served on a large number of Senate committees, although such may be one of the factors. It is defined as service which leads to the betterment of the academic and/or personal lives of large segments of the University community.
Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Service (Est. 2004)
The recipients of the Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Service must be members of the Academic Senate from the rank of Associate Professor through Professor V when nominated, who have made outstanding contributions of University and/or public service.
Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentorship (Est. 2015)
The recipients of the Distinguished Faculty Award for Mentorship must be members of the Academic Senate, regardless of rank, who have made outstanding contributions through mentoring of students or other faculty that takes place outside of a traditional teaching or research relationship and beyond their formal advising duties. This award will recognize mentoring activities that are not accompanied by additional financial compensation. Special consideration will be given to mentoring junior faculty, and mentoring with the intent to address gender equity and ethnic diversity.
Academic Senate – Better World Award (Est. 2019)
The Academic Senate – Better World Award will recognize the exceptional efforts of faculty who have made extraordinary contributions to an area of importance to the core values of the University of California, Irvine. As part of the Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Awards, the Committee on Scholarly Honors and Awards will invite members of the Irvine Division to nominate members for the award.
The recipients of the Academic Senate – Better World Award must be members of the Academic Senate, regardless of rank, whose professional contributions have positively influenced the world community in an extraordinary manner. The recipients will have achieved this influence through work or activism that has effectively and successfully influenced our global society.