Distinguished Faculty Ranks

The highest academic rank conferred to SUNY faculty

The Distinguished Faculty rank includes: Distinguished Professorship, Distinguished Service Professorship, Distinguished Teaching Professorship, and the Distinguished Librarian.

These designations recognize faculty who:

Are committed to excellence,
Kindle intellectual vibrancy,
Elevate the standards of instruction,
Enrich contributions to public service,

The program demonstrates SUNY’s pride in the groundbreaking scholarship, exceptional teaching, and the breadth and significance of faculty service.

Nomination Deadlines

Nomination form: April 20

Submit the Form

Nomination file: May 31

EMAIL THE FILE

General Eligibility Requirements for All Distinguished Faculty Ranks

Full-time, full professor.
May not hold another distinguished faculty rank.
May not hold “visiting” or similar type of appointment, as defined by the SUNY Board of Trustees .
May not hold a concurrent administrative appointment above the level of department chair that offers additional compensation.
May not be a university president.
Cannot be retired, or retiring before the appointment becomes official.
No posthumous nominations.

Explore SUNY Distinguished Faculty Program

Required Nomination Documents

Required Documents	Office or Individual Responsible	Additional Information
List of Internal and External Evaluators	Nominator	Use this document
Completed Nomination Form	Nominator	N/A
Nomination Abstract	Nominating Academic Department	N/A
Nominee's CV	Nominating Academic Department	N/A
Provost's Letter of Nomination	Provost's Office	This letter will be added after committee deliberations. It should provide detailed information and the specific rationale, in language appropriate for a general audience, for the candidate's nomination and should justify the nominee's appointment to this rank.
Dean's Letter of Nomination	Nominating Academic Department	This letter should provide detailed information and the specific rationale, in language appropriate for a general audience, for the candidate's nomination and should justify the nominee's appointment to this rank.
Internal Letters of Recommendation	Nominating Academic Department	At least five but no more than eight letters. Letters from the dean, provost, and president do not count as internal letters of recommendation.
University President's Letter of Nomination	Provost's Office	This letter should provide detailed information and the specific rationale, in language appropriate for a general audience, for the candidate's nomination and should justify the nominee's appointment to this rank.
External Letters of Support	Nominating Academic Department	Each letter should be: Accompanied by a one-paragraph (maximally one-page) summary of the external referee’s title and position, his/her accomplishments, honors, etc., as well as the relevance of their work to that of the candidate. Accompanied either by the author’s curriculum vitae or a detailed description of the author’s stature sufficient to provide review panelists a context for the recommendation submitted. Written by individuals whose own status or accomplishment is appropriate to a promotion at this level. Written by individuals who are sufficiently acquainted with the candidate’s work and the profession to be able to write an informed letter that locates the candidate’s standing in and contribution to the discipline and explaining the significance of the candidate’s awards and honors. Written by a disinterested individual: generally someone who hase not collaborated, co-authored, co-taught, or been in a student-teacher relationship with the candidate. If the letter writers have collaborated with the candidate in the past, they should pass the same distance test used by the major funding agencies in the candidate’s field: if the relationship is recent or close enough that the proposed letter writer would have to recuse himself/herself from a funding panel considering an application for that candidate, then the proposed letter writer is too recent or close for this promotion dossier.
Optional: Additional Letters of Support	Nominating Academic Department	These letters can be: Additional internal letters of support Additional external letters from individuals who know the candidate well but do not meet the "disinterested" criteria. These letters will be detached from the file before it is forwarded to SUNY. Therefore, they should not be listed inthe formal table of contents of the nomination file.

Honors and Privileges of Distinguished Faculty Membership

SUNY Distinguished Academy

Each new awardee will become a member of the SUNY Distinguished Academy.

In addition, the expectation is that Distinguished Faculty will receive additional recognition and support, consistent with the resources of the campus:

Each campus will acknowledge and honor new Distinguished Faculty at their convocation and/or graduation.
Because it is the University’s highest academic rank, Distinguished Faculty will march first in all academic processions.
The campus catalog will list Distinguished Librarians, Distinguished Professors, Distinguished Service Professors, and Distinguished Teaching Professors separately at the head of the faculty list. Such persons will also be placed on the faculty list and their Distinguished Faculty designation will be indicated.
Consistent with campus policy, all Distinguished Faculty will be accorded Emeritus status upon retirement.

Other Commemorative Honor

The Distinguished Faculty medallion, specifically commissioned to commemorate this distinction, is awarded to each Distinguished Faculty.

Obligations and Responsibilities

Appointment to Distinguished designation carries with it an extraordinary responsibility. Thus, it should not be thought of as a final career honor; rather, it is a commitment to continuing one’s work and one’s service on the campus and system levels.

Members of the SUNY Distinguished Academy are expected to:

Participate in system-wide and campus awards review committees.
Offer lectures and seminars on other campuses of the State University, and they may consider undertaking other activities requested of them, consistent with their areas of expertise. They may also be asked, by the Chancellor or a member of the Chancellor's staff, or by a campus President, to promote academic excellence within the State University.
Function as exemplary faculty and devote appropriate service to University-wide activities, both ceremonial and professional, on campuses other than their own when requested to do so by the Chancellor.
Devote time to curricular reform and to the improvement of instruction both on their home campus and to the University as a whole. Such service may come at the request of the Chancellor or a member of the Chancellor's staff, or a campus President.
Participate in SUNY’s Distinguished Academy.
Take on other responsibilities as needed.