Know an innovator? Nominate them for new College award

To the dismay of marketing students – and golfers – the 2020 Tiger Paw Classic charity golf outing was cancelled this spring due to the pandemic. But the void created by the Department of Marketing’s annual experiential student-learning event being called off has resulted in a “lemons to lemonade” opportunity for innovative faculty and staff to be recognized in the College of Business.

Prizes donated to the 11^th annual spring golf outing will be presented to faculty and staff winners of the new Sales Innovation Innovator of the Month Award in October, November and December. To qualify for the award and prizes, one only needs to self-nominate, or be nominated, on this link.

“The Innovator of the Month Award is the brainchild of (senior lecturer and Alumni Master Teacher) Carter McElveen,” said Jennifer Siemens, associate professor and Department of Marketing interim chair. “As an advisor to the department’s student-run charity fundraiser, Carter came up with the idea to use the golf tournament donations in a positive way for faculty and staff.”

Faculty and staff are encouraged to nominate themselves or a colleague in the College who they believe has shown resiliency, optimism, and innovation during this transitional and unprecedented period. Each month, one faculty and one staff member will be selected to receive the award from faculty and staff who are in the Sales Innovation Program and the annual golf outing.

“The outstanding effort a nominee has exhibited could be in teaching, advising, technology, or any number of areas where they contribute to the College,” Siemens said. “The goal of the award is to call out the good that’s being done in the College, despite the challenges we are all facing. We want to acknowledge how faculty and staff are overcoming these challenges and recognize their efforts in a positive way.”

The Innovator of the Month link will ask for a primary reason the nominator is recommending a faculty or staff member for the award and explain why the person is deserving of the recognition. Winners will be announced monthly through the College’s social media channels.

“The Tiger Paw Classic has been such a great example of a community service and experiential learning for our students, who annually make this such a successful event,” Siemens added. “When the Tiger Paw Classic was cancelled, most of the donors didn’t withdraw their contributions to the event. This award is a lemons to lemonade way of recognizing outstanding efforts within the College through the generosity of our donors.”

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