Women of Excellence Awards

The Women of Excellence Awards has been established to celebrate individuals who exemplify Baylor Values and demonstrate exceptional dedication to issues that affect women at Baylor College of Medicine, or in the larger community. Recipients will demonstrate this commitment through:

• Leadership in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion above and beyond their generally anticipated scope of responsibilities as a staff, faculty, trainee, or student.
• Documented extraordinary contributions and accomplishments, within one or more of Baylor’s mission areas, that address issues that affect women at Baylor College of Medicine, or in the larger community.

Eligibility: Baylor College of Medicine faculty, staff, students, or trainees in any mission area who meet the award criteria and have been an employee or trainee for at least one year. The nominee must also be in good standing with the College.

Note: A Baylor College of Medicine community member who has received a Women of Excellence Award is not eligible for consideration again until three additional years of service at Baylor have been completed

Any Baylor community member may nominate a Baylor student, trainee, faculty or staff for a Women of Excellence by submitting a complete nomination entry by the deadline. Self-nominations are not permitted.

Required Attachments

Letters should include specific examples of the contribution and accomplishments of the nominee towards meeting the award criteria.

• A Letter of Nomination (not to exceed two pages) specifying the individual’s contributions and accomplishments. The primary nomination may be submitted by any member (or group of members) of the faculty, staff, students, or trainees at Baylor. The primary nominator will be the point of contact and will collect and submit all components of the nomination entry.
• A Letter of Support (not to exceed two pages) from the nominee’s supervisor outlining their endorsement of the nominee for the award.
  • For faculty or staff member, letter must be written by the nominee’s supervisor.
  • For a student, the letter must be written by the nominee’s school dean.
  • For a medical resident or clinical fellow, the letter must be written by the nominee’s program director.
  • For a postdoc or non-clinical fellow, the letter must be written by the nominee’s supervisor or PI.

Note: If the Letter of Nomination is made by the nominee’s supervisor, then the Letter of Support should be written by the next higher person in the supervisory chain of command.

• A second Letter of Support (not to exceed two pages) from a Baylor institutional leader familiar with the nominee’s efforts (for example, department chair or vice chair, academic center director, vice president, division or section chief, program director or school dean).

Note: If the supervisor is also a Baylor institutional leader, the nominator should seek a letter from another institutional leader.

• Nominee’s Updated Curriculum Vitae/Resume
  • Faculty applicants: Please see the sample BCM-formatted CV for Faculty. This format is not required, but the overall format is preferred.
  • Staff applicants: Please see the BCM-formatted Resume for Staff. This format is not required, but the overall format is preferred.
• OPTIONAL: Nominators may submit an optional third Letter of Support (not to exceed two pages) from nominee’s colleagues or community partners (internal or external).

Guidelines for Submitting an Effective Nomination

Baylor College of Medicine Women of Excellence Award is very competitive. So, it is extremely important to ensure the package is well formulated and represents the same excellence that the nominee exhibits. These guidelines are intended to help nominators develop a strong package.

The Candidate: Carefully consider the accomplishments of the individual or group being nominated to ensure the time is right or whether a delay of a year or two might be better to substantially add to their accomplishments.

Nomination Letter:

• Be clear on your relationship to the nominee and why you are more than capable of assessing their worthiness for the award.
• Make sure the letter describes the nominee’s:
  • Leadership in addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion above and beyond their generally anticipated scope of responsibilities as a staff, faculty, trainee, or student; and
  • Documented extraordinary contributions and accomplishments, within one or more of Baylor’s mission areas, that address issues that affect women at Baylor College of Medicine, or in the larger community.
• Within the page limits imposed on nomination letters, be as complete as possible, providing an accurate representation of the nominee’s full body of work. Point to specific examples of what the nominee has done.
• Demonstrate how the achievements made the candidate deserving, paying close attention to their relationship to the award criteria and/or description. Specific examples reinforcing your points are important.
• Make it clear why your candidate stands out.

Letters of Support:

• Avoid supporting letters that tell substantially the same story. Together, the letters should tell a comprehensive but not redundant story that addresses all the award criteria.
• When you approach letter writers, suggest what part of the candidate’s accomplishments (e.g., research impacts, community service) they should focus on. The strongest supporting letters frame their remarks on one or more aspects of the award criteria.

Deadline

The Women of Excellence Award is administered by the Office of Community Engagement & Health Equity. The Award Selection Committee includes members of the Baylor Inclusion and Excellence Council. Nomination packets must be submitted via a online nomination form to Dr. Erik Malmberg, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Award Selection Committee reviews all complete nominations and identifies each year’s recipients. 

The application window for the 2024 nominations will reopen towards the end of this year. 

For additional information, contact Erik D. Malmberg, Ph.D., J.D., Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at institutionaldiversity@bcm.edu.