Nomination Criteria
To be considered, Bass Chair candidates must fall into one of three categories:
- Tenured associate professors at the time of appointment to a Bass Chair (this includes candidates being considered for tenure at the time of nomination);
- Full professors; or
- Faculty of equivalent ranks at other institutions who are under consideration for recruitment to Duke.
The nominator must be a Duke faculty member. Self- or peer nominations are accepted. To nominate a faculty member, the nominator must submit the following, each as separate PDF files through the online form:
- A current curriculum vitae of the candidate;
- A detailed discussion of the candidate’s teaching and scholarly contributions;
- A commentary on the nominee’s teaching record;
- Teaching evaluations for all undergraduate courses taught within the last five years;
- An observation on the nominee’s dedication to inclusive excellence; and
- Any supplementary material (optional).
Strong Bass Chair candidates will possess the following:
Candidates should have a sustained commitment to distinguished undergraduate teaching, which the committee defines as teaching that is intellectually demanding and unusually effective.
Evidence of this teaching commitment can come in a variety of forms, including:
- Formal recognition through teaching awards and other honors;
- Demonstrated success in teaching large format classes or quality teaching in small format or seminar-style classes;
- Leadership in academic programs like Bass Connections, Constellations, or FOCUS;
- Curricular reinvention; or
- Consistency and innovation in the classroom.
Strong nominations must also detail the candidate’s scholarly contributions, including evidence of quality, consequential, and sustained research, and national or international recognition of the candidate’s impact on their field.
To help the committee put the candidate’s undergraduate teaching record in perspective, nominations should include a commentary on:
- The candidate’s performance relative to other comparable individuals in the same department and/or school;
- An explanation of the effectiveness or ingenuity of the candidate’s teaching within the disciplinary context; and
- Any other related topics.
Nominations must include full teaching evaluations for all undergraduate courses taught by the candidate within the past five years.
Strong nominations must demonstrate a candidate’s dedication to inclusive excellence, one dimension of excellent undergraduate teaching. Evidence for this can include:
- Inclusive approaches to advising and mentoring students;
- Creatively adapting classroom strategies to meet the needs of a changing student body;
- Other related professional activities.
Nomination Timeline
- Nomination Window Opens – Aug. 3
- Nomination Deadline – Nov. 20
- Committee Reviews Submissions – December
- Board of Trustees Approves New Chairs – Early Spring
- New 2026 Bass Chairs Contacted – Spring
- 2026 Bass Chairs Announced – Late Spring
Frequently Asked Questions
The application deadline for the 2026-2027 Academic Year is Nov. 20 at 11:59 p.m.
Tenured associate or full professors at Duke may be nominated. Faculty of equivalent ranks at other institutions who are under consideration for recruitment to Duke may also be nominated.
Any Duke faculty member may nominate.
The following materials are required for the nomination as separate PDF files:
- A current curriculum vitae of the candidate;
- A detailed discussion of the candidate’s teaching and scholarly contributions;
- A commentary on the nominee’s teaching record;
- Teaching evaluations for all undergraduate courses taught within the last five years;
- An observation on the nominee’s dedication to inclusive excellence; and
- Any supplementary material (optional).
Nominations can be submitted through the form linked at the top of this page.
Please email the Student-Faculty Engagement Office at fsengagement@duke.edu.