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All University Awards

All-University Awards  

This suite of awards is recognized at the annual All-University Awards Ceremony. These awards celebrate the excellent work of our faculty, administrators, academic staff, and graduate students across the university. The call for All-University Awards is in the spring, with nominations typically due in mid-fall. 

The nomination period for this year is closed. Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate recipients at the All-University Awards Ceremony! To learn more about the 2026 recipients, see the awards booklet.

The Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development administers many of these awards and works with campus partners on others. For additional information on each award, including links to complete nominations, please see below.

If you have questions, feel free to contact honorifics@msu.edu.

View Awards

The next call for UDP nominations will be in December 2026.  

This award provides University-wide recognition of highly engaged community-based scholarship collaborations that positively impact both the community and scholarship.

Community Engagement Scholarship Award Nomination Information

The Distinguished Academic Staff/Specialist Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of those professionals who serve the University in advising, curriculum development, outreach, extension, research, and teaching.

Distinguished Academic Staff/Specialist Award Nomination Information

This award recognizes teachers who take pride in and are committed to quality undergraduate teaching and who demonstrate substantial continuing involvement in undergraduate education. All current fixed term and tenure system faculty with at least three years of teaching experience at Michigan State University are eligible for nomination.

Donald F. Koch Award for Quality in Undergraduate Teaching Nomination Information

MSU Excellence-In-Teaching Citations are made to six graduate teaching assistants who have distinguished themselves by the care they have given and the skill they have shown in meeting their classroom responsibilities. The essential purpose of the citation is to bring University-wide recognition to the best of the graduate teaching assistants and by so doing to underline the qualitative contribution which they are making to the undergraduate program. 

MSU Excellence-In-Teaching Citations Nomination Information

Recognizing faculty members’ roles in the creation of innovative environments that enable student learning within and across disciplinary, cultural, and ethnic boundaries, Carl and Margaret Liedholm have established the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award. The award is open to current MSU academic specialist and tenure system faculty who have a sustained record of substantial teaching responsibilities at Michigan State University and have implemented creative and effective ways to foster student learning. Preference will be given for those engaged in undergraduate teaching.

President's Distinguished Teaching Award Nomination Information

The Robert F. Banks Award for Institutional Leadership is designed to recognize the commitment and dedication that MSU faculty, academic staff and support staff leaders demonstrate by their extraordinary and sustained efforts. The award was established in honor and recognition of Dr. Robert F. Banks for his 40 years of service to Michigan State University, including seven years as Dean of James Madison College and 28 years as Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources.

Robert F. Banks Award for Institutional Leadership Nomination Information

The Simmons Chivukula Award for Academic Leadership is generously sponsored by a gift from Dr. Elizabeth H. Simmons (Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UC San Diego; former MSU Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Development and Dean of Lyman Briggs College) and Dr. R. Sekhar Chivukula (distinguished professor of Physics at UC San Diego, former MSU Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of Undergraduate Studies). The award is for exemplary work in academic leadership at the ranks of: department chair, school director, assistant dean, or associate dean (individuals must be currently holding one of these positions at the time of nomination). An individual will be selected annually based on consistently demonstrating excellence in academic leadership, including a commitment to creating effective, equitable and inclusive academic communities.

Simmons Chivukula Award for Academic Leadership Nomination Information

Annually, up to six Teacher–Scholar Awards are conferred on MSU tenure system faculty from the ranks of assistant professor and associate professor who early in their careers have earned the respect of students and colleagues for their devotion to and skill in teaching.

Teacher-Scholar Awards Nomination Information

The William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty awards go to individuals who have made distinguished and widely recognized contributions to their fields, who have made significant contributions to MSU and its programs, and who represent the character and qualities of excellence valued at Michigan State University. 

William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Awards Nomination Information

MSUToday articles from prior All-University Award ceremonies: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.

View the videos of the Awards Convocation ceremonies.