Dorothy Somerset Award for Performance Development in the Visual and Performing Arts

Nominees must be full-time tenure-stream faculty at UBC, and have held an appointment at UBC for at least 5 years as of the closing date for nominations.

• For the November 15, 2024 deadline, 5 years means they must have started at UBC on November 15, 2019 or earlier.

Recipients are only eligible for one Dorothy Somerset and/or Sam Black Award in their lifetime.

One Dorothy Somerset Award will be available every other year. The total value is $1,000, given to the recipient as an honorarium.

Nominations will be evaluated against the following criteria:

1. Evidence of outstanding contributions to (including outstanding performances in) one or more of the fields of Art, Music, Creative Writing, or Theatre and Film.
2. Demonstrated evidence of the nominee's exceptional commitment to sharing research and knowledge beyond the academic community.

Self-nominations are not accepted. Faculty members must be nominated by at least one tenured, tenure-track, or emeriti faculty member in their Faculty. Nominators must complete and submit all documentation.

Note: The Dean's office should be informed of the intention to submit a nomination and the name of the proposed nominee in order to avoid duplicate nominations. (Dean's signature not required.)

Nominators must submit all required materials by the November 15 deadline using this nomination form.

Nomination form fields include:

• Nominator information: Name, faculty, department, email address
• Nominee information: Name, position, faculty and department, year started at UBC, year of PhD/terminal degree, email address
• Citation (50 words): Please include a brief 50-word citation of the nominee's research written for a non-expert audience.

Required documents:

1. Nomination letter (1,200 words): 

A letter of nomination signed by at least one faculty nominator, including the name, title, and affiliation of each nominator. The letter should explain how the nominee meets the award criteria and why the nominee should be selected to receive the award.

2. Letters of Support (3): 

Three external letters of support from arm's-length referees. Recommended 1,200 words max per letter.

References are deemed crucial in the selection process thus letters should be objective assessments of the nominee’s suitability for the prize. Referees should be external to UBC and internationally recognized in their field (i.e. outside of UBC and preferably one from outside Canada). Referees must be at arm’s length and may not include thesis or dissertation supervisor(s), anyone the nominee has supervised, or anyone with whom the nominee has collaborated (as co-author or co-investigator) within the past 24 months. Letters written by referees with a confirmed conflict of interest with the nominee will not be included and the package will be considered incomplete. 

• Incomplete packages will not be reviewed.
• At least one letter should be solicited from a professional, rather than academic source.
• Letters must be signed and dated.
• Letters in excess of three will not be considered.

3. CV: 

Official updated UBC CV including complete list of publications (no page limit). For instructions, please visit: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/administrator-tools/forms/