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Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost

The Cale McDowell Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Studies

About the Award

The Cale McDowell Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Studies has been established to encourage research or innovation that improves the University of Texas at Austin’s core curriculum. The award honors Cale McDowell (BBA ’05, MPA ’06, JD ’09), one of the founders of the Academic Programs for Undergraduates and former Deputy to the Dean.

Deadline

Nomination deadline is Friday, October 23, 2026.

Number of Nominations

Each college or school may submit one (1) nominee. Each CSU is responsible for their own internal review process prior to nomination.

Nominee Qualifications

To be eligible, at time of nomination, a nominee must

  • be a benefits-eligible individual staff or faculty member or a currently enrolled student at The University of Texas at Austin in the current semester of the award year 
  • Faculty nominees must have served as a benefits-eligible professional-track, tenured or tenure-track faculty member (minimum of 50% FTE faculty appointment in each of fall and spring terms) at the University of Texas at Austin for at least the last three academic years 
  • not have contributed funds to the McDowell endowment 
  • not be a current member of the Cale McDowell Award selection committee 
  • not be a recipient of the Cale McDowell Award in the past five years 

The award may be given to a current faculty member, staff, or student in recognition of significant contributions to the core curriculum at UT Austin based on the following criteria: 

  • Demonstrated innovation in core curriculum undergraduate programming 
  • Conducted research aimed at improving the undergraduate experience in the core curriculum 
  • Created or supported policies designed to improve the core curriculum 
  • Enhanced or streamlined the delivery of core curriculum academic services 

Nomination Materials Required

  • Nomination letter from supervisor (chair, director, dean, etc.) (2 pages maximum) 
  • Nominee CV or Resume 
  • Nominee Statement 
    • 2 pages maximum  
    • Describe contributions to core curriculum and the impact on programs, students, and overall UT undergraduate experience. 

Contact us

facultyaffairs@utexas.edu