Mid-America Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (MIDTESOL) Annual Conference (“Innovation and Improvisation”) will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, September 20-October 1, 2016. The MIDTESOL Board invites submissions for the following conference awards:

Presenter Travel Awards

If you have been notified of acceptance to present at 2014 MIDTESOL, you are encouraged to apply for a Travel Award to help fund expenses. Up to three Travel Awards of $150 each will be granted!

To apply, the following items must be submitted to Denise C. Mussman (denise@umsl.edu), MIDTESOL Awards Chair, by September 2, 2016. The subject line of your email should read “MIDTESOL 2016: Travel Award Submission.” All application materials must be combined into one continuous document arranged in the order listed below:

1. Contact information, including name, email, and institutional affiliation;
2. Notification of proposal acceptance;
3. A brief statement (approximately 300 words, 12-point and double-spaced) describing the benefit that attending and presenting at the MIDTESOL conference will bring to you and other ELT professionals in your community;
4. An account of any outside funding sources received for travel to the conference;
5. A list of MIDTESOL Travel Awards received in the past; and
6. An agreement to submit a report outlining your presentation within a month of the conference for publication in MIDTESOL Matters, the organization’s electronic newsletter.

You will receive confirmation from the Awards Chair that your submission has been received and then a notification by September 16, 2016. Submissions undergo blind peer review. Incomplete applications or applications that are not in compliance with the instructions listed above will not be considered out of fairness to all applicants.

In the event that there are more proposals deemed worthy than there is money available to fund them, preference will be given to the applicant who (1) does not have external support for travel to the conference and (2) has never before received a MIDTESOL Travel Award. Decisions made by reviewers are final.

Best Student Proposal Award

MIDTESOL recognizes the contributions students make to the success of the conference as well as to the field at large. Students indicated eligibility for the award by checking the provided boxes on the proposal form. One proposal will be chosen and the winner (or winners for co-presenters) will be presented a $200 award. The student will be notified by September 16th, 2016.

Proposals undergo blind peer review. They are evaluated according to (1) significance and relevance of topic as it relates to ESL/EFL teaching and/or research; (2) organization and clarity of proposal; and (3) originality / creativity. Decisions made by reviewers are final.

Distinguished Service Award

You are invited to participate in the celebration of extraordinary service to our organization by nominating an individual you believe is most deserving of the Pat-on-the-Back Award. This award honors an individual’s dedication to and leadership in MIDTESOL. The selected recipient will be awarded a life-time membership.

Nominations may be made only by organizational members of MIDTESOL; no current member of the MIDTESOL Board is eligible for nomination. Include the following items in the nominating dossier (combined into one continuous document arranged in the order listed below):

1. Nominating letter explaining your rationale for the choice of this individual, verifying, too, that s/he meets the eligibility requirement;
2. Up-to-date curriculum vitae of the candidate; and
3. An account of any MIDTESOL Pat-on-the-Back Awards received (on the part of the nominee) in the past.

Submit nominating dossier to Denise C. Mussman (denise@umsl.edu), MIDTESOL Awards Chair, by September 2, 2016. The subject line of your email should read “MIDTESOL 2016: Distinguished Service Award Nomination.” You will receive confirmation from the Awards Chair that your submission has been received. Neither incomplete dossiers nor self-nominations will be considered.

Nominations will be judged on the individual’s service to and participation in the profession at the regional (i.e., MIDTESOL) level as detailed in the candidate’s nominating letter and CV.

All other criteria being equal, preference will be given to the applicant has never before received a MIDTESOL Distinguished Service  (formerly Pat-on-the-Back) Award.  Decisions made by reviewers are final.

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All award recipients will be announced at the meeting on Saturday, October 1, and in the ensuing issue of MIDTESOL Matters.

For further information, email the Awards Chair at denise@umsl.edu