The College of New Jersey Logo

Apply     Visit     Give     |     Alumni     Parents     Offices     TCNJ Today     Three Bar Menu

Mildred Dahne Award

The Mildred Dahne Award Committee calls for applications for the Mildred Dahne Award.  This annual award for department or program excellence includes a cash prize in an amount from $4,000 to $8,000, depending on market conditions and the earnings realized from the fund at the conclusion of the fiscal year.  The funds may be used to augment departmental funds or as stipend and professional development funds that may be used to cover the costs of attending conferences, the purchase of equipment and resource materials, etc.

Eligibility

Any academic department or program (including library) may apply for the award.  However, no department or program may receive the award more than once in a five year period.

Applications should demonstrate excellence and outstanding achievement in three of the six categories below.  All applications must address the first category, “Excellence in teaching and/or support of teaching.” Departments or programs may then select two additional categories for consideration.  Applications should clearly indicate which categories they address and be no more than 4-5 pages in length. Applications from previous award winners should emphasize work done since the previous award. As this is an award rather than a grant application, it is not necessary to address how the award money would be utilized.  Each category will be evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5 and the department/program with the highest score will receive the award. Applicants can review previous successful applications by following the links within the list of award recipients below.

1. Excellence in teaching and/or support of teaching

As TCNJ values high quality teaching, departments/programs need to demonstrate the effectiveness of their collective teaching skills.  This can be done with statistical evidence from student evaluations, examples of student testimonies, evidence of student success and other methods the department/program chooses to illustrate its effectiveness.

2. Academic excellence

Applications must demonstrate the academic excellence of the department’s/program’s members.  Juried and peer reviewed scholarship/creative endeavors are the methods by which this excellence will be conveyed.

3. Department impact

Application should discuss the impact of the department/program on the TCNJ community, the larger academic community and/or the surrounding communities.  Topics included in this discussion may include, but are not limited to, the department’s/program’s outreach to the various communities and its commitment to diversity.  The Award committee recognizes that departments/programs differ in the ways in which they impact the communities.   As such, these parameters should be broadly defined. National (or international) recognition beyond the local and regional level is highly desirable.

4. Innovation and creativity

The department/program should be a model of innovation and creativity in advancing its discipline and the TCNJ community.

5. Student involvement

Departments/programs should provide evidence of student involvement in the departments/programs.  Applications should demonstrate the degree to which students are involved in the daily activities of the department/program as well the department’s/program’s successful advising and mentoring of students.

6. Service to profession

Application should demonstrate the department’s/program’s contributions to its discipline and profession.  This can take many forms, from serving as officers of professional organizations to serving as peer reviewers for scholarship and/or creative works.


Winners

2023 AWARD SHARED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND WORLD LANGUAGES AND CULTURES
2022 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN’S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES
2021 AWARD SHARED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES AND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
2020 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF NURSING
2019 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA
2018 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
2017 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
2016 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELOR EDUCATION
2015 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
2014 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS
2013 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & EXERCISE SCIENCE
2012 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, LANGUAGE, AND LITERACY (documents/SELL2012.docx)
2011 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL STUDIES

2010 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
2009 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
2009 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
2008 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
2007 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
2007 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY/EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

2006 AWARD TO THE WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM
2005 AWARD TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

Top