Dr. Hamzeh Roumani EECS Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award

Overview

The Dr. Hamzeh Roumani EECS Outstanding Teaching Assistant (TA) Award recognizes exceptional contributions by Teaching Assistants (TAs) in the EECS Department. It is named in honour of Dr. Hamzeh Roumani, whose dedication to undergraduate education and TA mentorship has left a lasting legacy in our department.

This award may be granted to multiple TAs in a given semester. The Awards Committee determines the number of recipients based on the quantity and quality of nominations received.

Eligibility and Nomination Criteria

• Only TAs officially appointed in a given semester are eligible for the award in that semester.
• Course directors may nominate TAs at their discretion, based on their own experience working with the TA. They are encouraged to consider student feedback and to comment on the TA’s strengths in areas such as pedagogical excellence, collegiality and reliability, leadership in course development and delivery, mentorship that enhances student learning, and other significant contributions to the course and the overall student experience. Instructors nominating a TA who is or was their own graduate student must explicitly declare this relationship at the time of nomination.

Adjudication and Presentation

• The adjudication process is conducted by the Awards Committee through an informal scoring procedure, taking into account the content and strength of the nominations.
• The number of awardees may vary from semester to semester, depending on the nomination pool and the judgment of the committee.
• Committee members must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from evaluating nominees with whom they have a personal, supervisory, or professional relationship.
• The award is typically presented at a departmental meeting or gathering at the end of the semester.