Annual Awards

Overview and purpose: Quantitative reasoning centers offer vital student support at postsecondary institutions across the US and beyond. The annual Center of Excellence Award recognizes one or more centers making significant contributions to student learning and to the broader profession of those hired to lead centers.

Eligibility: Nominees for the award must be active or retired members of the National Numeracy Network.

Nomination process: Centers may self-nominate or be put forward for consideration by others. However, centers nominated must a) be located at an institutional member of the NNN (or be directed by a member of the NNN), and b) provide a nomination portfolio for consideration by the selection committee. Nomination portfolios reflecting work over the prior three years should include:

• A short cover letter describing the institutional context including institutional size, students served by the institution, where the Center is located in the organizational structure, along with a brief description of offered services and (if relevant) student-TA training
• Measures of student engagement (eg, number of student visits, number of tutor meetings, metrics of use for online or physical resources, or number of class visits).
• Evidence of effectiveness documented in articles published in Numeracy or elsewhere will be given particular weight, though non-published evidence of student learning outcomes is also welcomed

• Reports or publications concerning the development or implementation of QR assessment tools
• Descriptions of courses offered in conjunction with the center, whether taught by Center staff or others (e.g., QR skills courses and summer bridge offerings)
• Details of support offered to courses throughout the institution (e.g., data guides, assigned QR tutors, or in-class training sessions)
• Summaries of professional development work to empower faculty and staff to support students in QR (whether in person or online, synchronous or asynchronous)
• Evidence of work done by the Center's Director to advance the profession (e.g., organizing professional development events, or publishing scholarship related to the profession).

Submit a Nomination

Award/benefits: The award consists of an email announcement and an acknowledgement on the NNN website. The announcement will include a citation concerning why the Center earned the award.

Additional information: Recognition as a Center of Excellence can be renewed after 5 years.

Overview and purpose: Very few individuals begin their career in the world of quantitative literacy (QL); as a result, many people gain their knowledge from informal mentors. This award acknowledges the important mentoring that many NNN members do to support the growth and flourishing of the field.

Eligibility: Nominees for the award must be active or retired members of the National Numeracy Network. Individuals may receive the award only once.

Nomination process: All members may nominate another member for this award. There are various ways an individual can engage in mentorship, including (but not limited to):

• Support in starting and developing quantitative centers
• Support in the development of quantitative literacy or quantitative reasoning curricula
• Provision of professional development events or materials
• Publication of work that supports awareness of the need for numeracy for citizenship

Submit a Nomination

Award/benefits: The award consists of a plaque–both physical and digital–and an announcement on the NNN website. The announcement will include a citation concerning why the recipient earned the award. We will also permanently add the name of the award winner to the website.

Selection Criteria: The committee has the license to award 0 or 1 awards in a given year. If there are multiple quality nominations, the committee may elect to keep the nomination of an individual for future years. The committee will determine how to choose between multiple nominations.

Overview and purpose: The Bernie Madison Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes exceptional leadership and contributions in the field of numeracy and quantitative literacy. Dr. Bernard (Bernie) Madison was the founding president of the National Numeracy Network and an important scholar and educator in the area of quantitative literacy. This award now honors other exceptional leaders whose significant contributions have shaped the field of numeracy and quantitative literacy.

Eligibility: Nominees for the award must be active or retired members of the National Numeracy Network. We expect that winners of the award will have provided sustained service to the field of numeracy and quantitative literacy through work such as (but not limited to):

• Mentoring of faculty and staff supporting quantitative literacy programs or efforts
• Establishment of QL programs on individual campuses
• The development of curricula for quantitative literacy
• Research and/or grant-related contributions to better our understanding of quantitative literacy
• Public outreach in the area of quantitative literacy

Nomination process: We expect that this will be a rare award. Nominations should come from members of the board and be submitted to the chair of the Awards Subcommittee of the Board. Nominations should include a letter describing the impact of the nominee in the areas outlined above. In a year in which the award is given, the President will announce the award publicly at the annual meeting. In the event that the winner is unable to attend the meeting, they will be given the award via Zoom at the meeting.

Submit a Nomination

Award/benefits: The award consists of a plaque–both physical and digital–and an announcement on the NNN website. The plaque will include a citation concerning why the recipient earned the award. We will also permanently add the name of the award winner to the website.

Selection Criteria: The committee has the license to award 0 or 1 awards in a given year. We expect that successful nominees will be those who have engaged broadly with several of the eligibility activities bulleted above.