University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship Awards

2025 Selection Criteria

The University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professorships are awarded to tenured faculty members with a distinguished, current record of research. The purpose of these awards is to recognize recent contributions and provide incentives for continued excellence in research.

The primary selection criteria will include a) the professor’s performance in the past five years and b) evidence of a strong research agenda that is likely to lead to continuing distinction in the professor’s field.

UFRF Professorships are open to tenured faculty, subject to the eligibility requirements below.

The University of Florida Research Foundation’s funds are earned from royalties and fees on intellectual property, retained indirect costs from certain corporate contracts and grants, and investment income. These awards do not involve state funds.

Professorship Terms

• Each three-year UFRF Professorship includes a:
  • $5,000 annual salary supplement.
  • $3,000 grant to support research, to be awarded in year one of the three-year tenure of this professorship.
• Nominations are invited in February, for submission in March.
• Awards are made in May

Eligibility

• Full-time Associate, Full, and Distinguished Professors who are tenured at the time of the award and have been on the UF faculty for at least five years (as of May 1, 2025) are eligible.  Part-time Associate or Full Professors are not eligible.
• Faculty members are eligible for re-nomination following a two-year hiatus after holding a Research Foundation Professorship. For 2025, faculty members who received a Professorship in 2020 or earlier are again eligible for re-nomination.

Nomination

• Nominees must be nominated by their Department Chairs. Department Chairs are nominated by their College Deans.  Deans (all levels) are not eligible.
• Each dean will be notified of the total number of awards available.

Criteria

• Nominees must have a distinguished current research program that places them among the leaders in their discipline.  This is measured over the most recent five academic years.  All nominees must demonstrate an active current research program that will likely lead to continuing distinction in their field.
• This standing must be demonstrated by objective measures of research performance that are appropriate to their discipline and so recognized by their peers.  Examples of such criteria are:
  • Publication in leading scholarly journals in the field.
  • Monographs or other scholarly works.
  • Citation analysis, where appropriate.
  • Awards in their field, e.g. best paper, personal recognitions.
  • Evidence of consistent external funding, where appropriate.
  • Evidence of development of intellectual property, where appropriate.

Nomination Steps

Nominations must be submitted by the office of the Dean.

• Once the college selects the UFRF nominees, please send the following documents for each nominee to the Office of Research at UFRFnomination@research.ufl.edu.
• The supporting documents must be submitted to InfoReady Review by the deadline.
  • The submission link is https://ufresearch.infoready4.com/#freeformCompetitionDetail/1963320
• The Dean may appoint a designee to upload the required nomination materials in InfoReady Review.
• In addition to a completed online nomination form in InfoReady Review, the following information will be requested and submitted by the Dean’s office:
  • From the nominee’s Department Chair: A signed supporting letter that documents the nominee’s standing in the field
  • From the nominee: A one-page lay abstract that details recent accomplishments and current research agenda
  • The nominee’s CV
  • An optional headshot of the nominee
  • Optional links to the nominee’s social media accounts

Expectations On Completion Of Professorship Term

• Persons holding this award must provide a short report to the Vice President for Research (three-page maximum) reviewing their accomplishments during the period they held the award and expectations for the future.

Application Due Date

Applications are due to the Office of Research by 5:00 pm on March 19th.

Questions

Please direct all questions to UFRFnomination@research.ufl.edu.