[bioundgrd] Fwd: Call for Nominations: Goodwin Medal

[Janice Chang]

Dear faculty, undergrad and grad students,

The Office of Graduate Education is providing information below on Goodwin Medal nominations for a graduate student TA award.  This is an institute award and is separate from the department's internal graduate TA awards for which nominations are requested at the end of the academic year

The department can submit one nomination to the Office of Graduate Education.  If there is interest in submitting a nomination package for a biology graduate student please let me know in advance.  Please send nominations by Tuesday, March 3, 2026 for the department internal review.  

> Nomination package from departments
> Departments may nominate one person. A complete nomination package includes only the following:
> Recommendation letters (no cap) from faculty members or lecturers who oversaw the nominee’s work as a TA/IG. This letter should include:
> The course or courses in which the nominee and letter-writer worked together
> Information about the course, including
> The number of students in the course
> The typical teaching duties and responsibilities of TAs/IGs in this course
> How the TA/IG went above and beyond mere excellence in their role as TA/IG
> Explanation of context for other application materials
> Supporting letters from former students (no cap). These letters could be prompted by the questions
> How did the TA/IG enhance your experience in the class?
> What large or difficult concepts did the TA/IG help you to understand? What did they do to help you come to this understanding?
> In what ways did the TA/IG help you see the big picture about your course?
> The nominee’s CV, which should include teaching experience.



Thank you.


Sincerely,
Janice



***********************
Janice Chang | Educational Administrator | Department of Biology | MIT
rm:68-120 | ph: 617.253.7344 | jdchang at mit.edu <mailto:jdchang at mit.edu>



> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Kevin F O'Brien <kobrien1 at mit.edu>
> Subject: Call for Nominations: Goodwin Medal
> Date: February 6, 2026 at 4:13:52 PM EST
>  
> The Office of Graduate Education is soliciting nominations for this year’s Goodwin Medal for outstanding teaching by a graduate student, as part of the MIT Awards Convocation <https://sites.mit.edu/awards/>. Please note the application materials have been revised and that nominators should be sure to review the new application requirements below.
>  
> The Goodwin Medal
> Each year, MIT awards the Goodwin Medal to a graduate teaching assistant (TA) or Instructor-G (IG) who has performed above and beyond the norm, and whose teaching efforts can truly be characterized as “conspicuously effective.”  Conspicuously effective TAs demonstrate some commitment to supporting student learning above and beyond excellence in typical TA tasks. Descriptions of recent outstanding teachers, who model conspicuous efficacy, can be found on the Former Goodwin Medal Recipients <https://oge.mit.edu/community-belonging/awards-recognition/the-goodwin-medal/previous-recipients/> webpage. This award was established in memory of Harry Manley Goodwin, the first dean of the graduate school at MIT, through a gift from his widow, Mary B. Goodwin, and son, Richard H. Goodwin. The award consists of an engraved bronze medal and a monetary gift of $10,000.
>  
> Eligibility
> The award will be presented to a graduate student teacher who has established a place of distinction in teaching in the opinion of their students and the faculty of their department. The nominee must satisfy the following requirements:
> Be a current graduate student who is primarily at MIT (if involved in a joint program with another university)
> Must have served as a TA/IG at least twice as a graduate student and held positions that involved significant student support (e.g., teaching recitations, holding office hours, etc.).
> Co-teachers may be nominated jointly, but the specific contributions of each individual must be detailed (please see below). Descriptions of recent recipients (above) may provide helpful reference points for faculty and department nominators.
>  
> Nomination package from departments
> Departments may nominate one person. A complete nomination package includes only the following:
> Recommendation letters (no cap) from faculty members or lecturers who oversaw the nominee’s work as a TA/IG. This letter should include:
> The course or courses in which the nominee and letter-writer worked together
> Information about the course, including
> The number of students in the course
> The typical teaching duties and responsibilities of TAs/IGs in this course
> How the TA/IG went above and beyond mere excellence in their role as TA/IG
> Explanation of context for other application materials
> Supporting letters from former students (no cap). These letters could be prompted by the questions
> How did the TA/IG enhance your experience in the class?
> What large or difficult concepts did the TA/IG help you to understand? What did they do to help you come to this understanding?
> In what ways did the TA/IG help you see the big picture about your course?
> The nominee’s CV, which should include teaching experience.
>  
> Departments should not submit any other materials. If additional materials are submitted, they will be removed before circulating them to the selection committee. Prompts for the nomination and student letters should be given based on the sub-points above.
>  
> We will collect subject evaluation reports directly and circulate them to the selection committee. Please do not include them with the nomination packages.
>  
> For more details on the Goodwin Medal, eligibility and nomination process, please visit here <https://oge.mit.edu/community-belonging/awards-recognition/the-goodwin-medal/>.
>  
> Nominations should be sent to the faculty head of the candidate's home department of registration, even if the candidate has taught subjects listed in other departments. Nomination letters may be addressed to the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Denzil Streete.
>  
> Final nomination packages can be submitted through the Google Form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfK_2l8GnlxnJnAS1ZHCfbJcORv8ZgY8uWVuLjfU9oEabKO1Q/viewform?usp=dialog>.
>  
> Thank you for your support. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
>  
> Best,
> Kevin
>  
> Kevin O’Brien
> Director of Graduate Fellowships 
>  
> Office of Graduate Education 
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
> Building 3-107k
> 77 Massachusetts Ave
> Cambridge, MA 02139
> Phone: 617-324-7021
>  
> Check out our fellowships page <https://oge.mit.edu/fellowships/>!

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