Eligibility: Nominees must be currently teaching at Bates during the award year and have taught at Bates for fewer than 6 years at the time of nomination.

Core Criteria:

Reflective Growth: Thoughtful response to teaching challenges or student feedback.

Inclusive Practice: Implementation of equitable learning strategies (e.g., flexible grading, diverse materials, scaffolding).

Experimental Mindset: Willingness to try new methods, reflect, and adapt.

Pedagogical Alignment: Syllabus design that reflects intentionality, accessibility, and student success.

Winners of any Kroepsch Award from the previous five years are not eligible.

Nominations are open to all educators (faculty and staff).. Self-nominations are explicitly welcomed. 

Submit Nomination Form: Complete the short nomination form detailing the nominee’s commitment to student learning.

Submit Supporting Artifact: Nominees will upload one syllabus (PDF preferred, under 5MB, or a static link/export for living digital documents like Lyceum or Google Docs) for a course taught during the nomination year.

Nomination Form: Available on Garnet Gateway

Nominee Name:

Department/Program:

Relationship to Nominee: (Self, Chair, Peer, etc.)

The “Why” (Max 500 words): Describe how the nominee demonstrates intentionality, reflective growth, and promise in student learning. Address at least two of the following:

Reflective Growth: A specific teaching challenge or student feedback encountered and how the approach was adapted.

Inclusive Practice: A specific example of an inclusive or equitable teaching practice integrated and its effect on lowering barriers for students.

Experimental Mindset: A specific method, activity, or technology experimented with and what was learned from the experience.

Eligibility: Open to all individual educators or collaborative units (e.g., course teams, programs, cross-unit collaborations involving faculty and/or staff educators).

Examples of Innovation:

• Creative use of technology or learning spaces
• New course structures or assignment designs
• Community-engaged or experiential learning models
• Cross-disciplinary teaching collaborations
• Inclusive assessment or ungrading practices

Winners of any Kroepsch Award from the previous five years are not eligible.

Nominations may be submitted by self or others via Garnet Gateway. Focus on intentional design and learning impact rather than novelty alone.

Nomination Form Available on Garnet Gateway

Nominee(s): (Individual or Team Names)

Title of Innovation: (e.g., “The Ungrading Pilot”, “Biology-Art Collaboration”)

The Problem (Max 250 words): What conventional model or pedagogical challenge were you trying to address or push beyond?

The Innovation (Max 250 words): Describe the evidence-based approach. What did you do differently?

The Impact (Max 250 words): How did this enhance student engagement or learning? (Qualitative anecdotes and quantitative data are both welcome).