Provost’s Distinguished Leadership Service Academy

About the DLSA

The Provost’s Distinguished Leadership Service Academy (DLSA) provides a formal organization of distinguished senior professional-track and tenured faculty members with extraordinary contributions and accomplishments across their professional portfolios and particularly in terms of their excellence in leadership, mentoring and service to their college or school, the University, the state and the nation.

Goals of the DLSA include:

• Recognize and reward outstanding faculty members for extraordinary leadership service and mentoring to students, their department, their school/college, the University and broader communities.
• Foster and promote leadership training for UT faculty colleagues that focuses on service and mentoring-related topics.
• Provide opportunities for other faculty, staff and students to learn how to develop balanced professional portfolios that integrate excellence in scholarship, teaching, mentoring and service.
  
  

Dates and Deadlines
Award opens for Nominations/Applications – August 2026

• Nominations close (optional, not required to apply) – September 25, 2026
• Completed application due (for other- and self-nominated candidates) – October 23, 2026
• Letters of support due – November 20, 2026
  
  

Eligibility Criteria
Candidates must demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to service and mentoring and must have excelled across their full portfolio of professional contributions. The following eligibility requirements apply:

• Tenure-track assistant professors are not eligible.
• Professional-track faculty must have completed a minimum of 5 academic years of full-time faculty service at UT Austin at the time of application.
• Tenured faculty must have completed at least five academic years of full-time faculty service at UT Austin at the time of application.

Nomination and Application Process

The DLSA uses a single-round application process, with letters of recommendation solicited separately from nominee/applicant materials. All materials required for committee review must be received by the deadlines listed above.

• Any member of the University community may nominate an eligible faculty member. Self-nominations are encouraged, and there are no limits for each CSU.
• A nomination submitted by another person serves as a referral and invitation to apply; it is not a complete application.
• A nomination is not required for candidates who apply without another faculty member’s nomination.
• The nomination deadline will precede the application deadline so that nominated faculty members have sufficient time to prepare their materials.
• Other- and self-nominated candidates are subject to the same application requirements and deadlines.

Application package at-a-glance (see below for details)

• Cover sheet (1 page)
• Candidate statement (3 pages)
• Abbreviated CV (4 pages)
• Two letters of recommendation (2 pages each, submitted separately)

Cover Sheet (one page)

The cover sheet must include:

• Candidate’s name, faculty title, college or school, and department (if applicable)
• Candidate’s EID and contact information
• Title series, current rank, UT Austin appointment date and date of appointment at the current eligible rank
• Names, titles, affiliations and email addresses of the two referees (letter writers)

Candidate Statement (three pages maximum)

The statement should provide a focused, evidence-based account of the candidate’s most significant leadership, service and mentoring contributions. It should address:

• The candidate’s philosophy and approach to leadership, service and mentoring, illustrated through two or three especially significant contributions.
• For each contribution, the institutional or community need should be addressed; the candidate’s specific role and actions; the scope, outcomes and sustainability of the work; and how the contribution exceeded ordinary expectations associated with the faculty appointment or assigned responsibilities.
• Evidence of excellence in mentoring, collaboration and development of others, together with evidence of excellence across other professional areas of review (teaching, research, mentoring) relevant to applicant’s title series and role.
• Candidates should use specific examples and evidence rather than repeat accomplishments listed in the CV. Headings, concise tables or other organizational devices may be used within the three-page limit.

Abbreviated CV (four pages maximum)

The abbreviated CV should emphasize the portions of the candidate’s record most relevant to DLSA selection criteria, including:

• Academic appointments and relevant professional experience;
• Formal and informal professional leadership roles;
• Departmental, college or school, University, professional and community service;
• Mentoring of students, faculty and staff, including faculty or leadership development activities;
• Selected teaching, scholarly, research or creative contributions demonstrating excellence across the professional portfolio;
• Awards, honors and other recognition relevant to leadership, service or mentoring; and
• Evidence of excellence across other professional areas of review (teaching, research, mentoring) relevant to applicant’s title series and role.

Two Letters of Support (two pages maximum per letter, submitted separately)

Two letters are required and must be submitted by the letter-writers by the deadline listed above. See below for eligibility and guidance on the content of the letters:

• At least one letter must be written by a UT Austin faculty colleague or administrator who can provide institutional context for the candidate’s contributions.
• The second letter may be written by a faculty colleague, a UT Austin administrator or a current or former student. No more than one letter may be from a faculty colleague external to UT Austin, and no more than one letter may be from a student.
• Members of the DLSA Selection Committee may not serve as referees
• Letters must be prepared for the current award cycle and submitted directly by the referees through the application portal. Letter writers will be contacted by email and provided with an upload link upon the submission of the candidate’s application.
• Letters should provide critical evidence and context rather than general advocacy. Each letter should:
  • Briefly describe the referee’s relationship with the candidate;Assess the candidate’s individual role, leadership, service, mentoring and impact;
  • Explain how the contributions exceeded normal expectations;
  • Briefly substantiate excellence across the candidate’s other professional areas relevant to the nominee’s faculty title series (research, mentoring, teaching)

Submission Requirements and Review Process

• The candidate will submit the cover sheet, candidate statement and abbreviated CV as a single PDF via the Airtable application portal.
• Referees will receive an email request to submit their letters separately through the application portal.
• The Provost’s Office will append the letters to the committee review file.
• Selection Committee members will independently evaluate each complete application using a common rubric based on the evaluation criteria below.
• Final recommendations will be submitted to the Provost, who will determine appointments to the DLSA.

Evaluation Criteria

Committee review will consider the following areas:

• Extraordinary leadership and service: the significance of the needs addressed, the candidate’s individual role, the complexity and breadth of the work, and the extent to which it exceeded ordinary expectations.
• Demonstrated impact: meaningful outcomes, reach, sustainability, replication and lasting institutional or community value.
• Mentoring and development of others: the quality and scope of mentoring, evidence of mentee development, and contributions to the leadership capacity of faculty, staff or students.
• Excellence across other professional areas of review (teaching, research, mentoring) relevant to applicant’s title series and role.

Award Amount
Awardees will receive a one-time honorarium in the amount of $25,000.