William H. Weston Award for Excellence in Teaching

William H. Weston Award for Excellence in Teaching

Application deadline: February 15th before midnight, Pacific Time.

The William H. Weston Award is given annually to an outstanding teacher of mycology at the undergraduate and or graduate levels. 

The William H. Weston Award is administered by the MSA Distinctions Committee. 

To view all other awards offered by the Mycological Society of America, see the MSA Awards Chart.

2021 William H. Weston Awardees for Teaching Excellence

Award Requirements

  1. The nominee must be a current member of the MSA. 
  2. An individual may receive the W.H. Weston Award only once
  3. Self-nomination is not allowed. 
  4. Nominators must be current members of MSA
  5. Nominees who are not chosen for the prize in the year in which they are nominated will be reconsidered for up to two additional years. The Distinctions Committee Chairperson will request updates of the nominee’s materials. 

Documents Required

The nomination package should contain: 

  1. A current curriculum vitae, including lists of:
    • Courses taught in mycology, plant pathology or related areas
    • Publications related to the teaching of mycology.
    • Teaching seminars, symposia or workshops given by the nominee to either lay or academic groups.
    • Memberships on national, regional, state or local committees, panels, etc., on teaching
  2. A list of graduate students with thesis titles, degrees and dates, publications, and current addresses (where known), or explanation for the absence of such.
  3. A statement from the nominee on teaching philosophy, i.e., what the nominee personally believes it takes to make an excellent teacher, what the nominee is trying to accomplish in teaching mycology, and how various teaching techniques and strategies help to accomplish this goal.
  4. A list of previous awards or recognition for outstanding teaching.
  5. Evaluation of the nominee’s teaching, including:
    • Solicited and unsolicited letters from students and colleagues who have taken or audited the nominee’s courses, or been supervised by the nominee
    • Course evaluation forms (or numerical summaries thereof)
    • Any other information documenting teaching excellence

To Apply

The nominator should prepare a single electronic file, preferably in PDF format, containing all of the items listed above and email it as an attachment to: msafungi@reesgroupinc.com with the subject heading “William H. Weston Award for Excellence in Teaching”.

Note: The committee may choose to issue no award in a given year, if it is appropriate. Presentation of the award, a plaque, will take place at the awards ceremony during the annual meeting of the MSA. The recipient will be notified in time to plan to attend the presentation. The name of the awardee will be published in the annual meeting program and in Inoculum. 

Diversity Statement

The MSA encourages and welcomes nominations of all individuals regardless of race and ethnicity, country of origin, sex, gender identity, religion, age, education level, socioeconomic status, marital status, parental status, physical ability, neurological differences, political affiliation, and sexual orientation. See the full MSA Diversity Statement 

See a list of past William H. Weston Awardees