LEAPS Scholar Awards

The Equity Scholar Award honors individuals or groups whose scholarship significantly contributes to fostering inclusion, accessibility, and equity in education. This award recognizes efforts that address systemic barriers, promote diversity, and create opportunities for marginalized or underrepresented populations. It highlights work that embodies fairness and a commitment to creating an inclusive educational environment.

Criteria: Impact on Equity and Inclusion (60%), Innovative Approaches (10%), Scholarly Rigor (20%), Advocacy and Leadership (10%)

Eligibility: All faculty eligible for advancement and promotion under the APT policies as defined by their UMB school.

Nomination Materials: Up to 3 letters of nomination will be accepted for each nominee. The letters should address, with specific examples and citations of work, all items listed in the criteria.

The Educational Poster Award recognizes excellence in the creation and presentation of an educational poster at a LEAPS event. This award celebrates innovation, clarity, and the ability to effectively communicate complex ideas or research findings to a diverse audience. It is designed to honor posters that stand out for their visual appeal, scholarly rigor, and educational impact

Criteria: Content Quality (40%), Visual Design and Layout (30%), Innovation and Creativity (20%), Engagement and Presentation (10%)

Eligibility: All faculty eligible for advancement and promotion under the APT policies as defined by their UMB school who present posters the day of the LEAPS Symposium are eligible.

Selection Process: Posters will be reviewed by a committee of experts in Health Professions Education and will be judged using a rubric matching the criteria of the award. The winners will be announced during the LEAPS Symposium or other events. No submissions will be accepted for this award.

The Innovation Scholar Award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional creativity in teaching practices, curriculum development, or program implementation. The recipient is a leader in fostering innovative approaches that enhance learning outcomes, engage students in novel ways, and address challenges in education through forward-thinking solutions that demonstrate impact. 

Criteria: Innovation in Teaching and Learning (60%), Impact on Students (30%), Leadership (10%)

Eligibility: All faculty eligible for advancement and promotion under the APT policies as defined by their UMB school.

Nomination Materials: Up to 3 letters of nomination will be accepted for each nominee. The letters should address, with specific examples, all items listed in the criteria. Supporting documents demonstrating innovative approaches and/or impact may be included, up to 10 pages.

The purpose of the Scholarship/Publication Award is to recognize a faculty member for scholarly contributions to education which have led to a publication (book, book chapter, or peer-reviewed journal article) that contributes to the literature and/or practice of graduate and professional education. Articles and published works may be “submitted", “inpress” or already published works. If already published, the work should have been published within the last two years.

Scholarly education can be characterized by:

1. Purposeful planning (clear objectives and advanced preparation), 
2. systematic implementation (explicit methods with measurable outcomes and theoretical grounding),
3. effective presentation of results (clear articulation of activities and outcomes), and
4. reflective critique (continuous, stepwise, and critical evaluation aimed at ongoing improvement) as defined by Glassick (CE Glassick, Acad Med. 2000, 75(9), 877-880).

Criteria: Candidates for this award should clearly demonstrate a scholarly approach to educational dissemination activities (e.g., scholarship of teaching, mentoring, educational research broadly conceived, development and dissemination of educational materials, educational design).

Eligibility: All faculty eligible for advancement and promotion under the APT policies as defined by their UMB school. Work that is under review for publication is eligible. The publication may have more than one author and may be an interdisciplinary effort. The award will go to the lead author (the lead author must be employed by UMB or one of its schools, regardless of the number of co-authors).

Nomination Materials: Up to 3 letters of recommendation for each nominee. The submission packet should include the work that fulfills the definition of educational scholarship.

The Rising Scholar Award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional promise in the field of education through innovative research, teaching, and dissemination of educationally focused projects. The award celebrates individuals who are shaping the future of education by addressing key challenges, generating impactful insights, and implementing transformative educational practices. Recipients are typically recognized for their scholarly contributions, leadership potential, and commitment to advancing educational excellence. 

The Distinguished Educator Award for Outstanding Mentor recognizes one faculty member at UMB for their role in supporting, encouraging, and promoting a positive and inclusive scholarly and teaching environment, and for contributing to the professional and personal development of graduate and professional students. Mentoring involves not just successfully directing projects, theses, and dissertations, but also providing guidance and motivation in the context of students’ interests, passions, and personal circumstances.

The Distinguished Educator Award for Outstanding Preceptor specifically recognizes one preceptor at UMB who exceeds expectations in precepting students, elevating the standards of teaching and mentorship of our trainees, and providing exceptional service to their profession.

The Distinguished Educator Award for Excellence in Teaching is to recognize outstanding teaching done by our faculty and the sustained positive influence of their teaching on students and advisees/mentees. Great teachers go above and beyond to inspire students and instill learning skills that ultimately prepare the student for a lifetime of learning.