Deadline for online voting extended

Ohio University students now have until Friday to cast their votes online for the OU Professor Award.

The award, which allows students to nominate their favorite professor, is awarded to five faculty members yearly, said Karin Sandell, OU director of the Center for Teaching Excellence.

When voting is completed Sandell will select the top 10 professors proportionate to the number of students each professor teaches, she said. The 10 professors then undergo an hour-long interview and instruction observation by a committee consisting of 12 to 15 OU students.

The five, honored faculty members then create a new course of their choice to be taught twice the following year, Sandell said.

Voting began on Nov. 6 and is available online for the first time at http://www.ohiou.edu/teacher, she said. E-mails announcing the availability of online nomination were sent to all OU students by the request of Patricia Richard, dean of University College.

In the past, voting was conducted using paper ballots turned in with registration and voting booths set up around campus, Sandell said.

Sandell said she hopes the online ballot will encourage more students to vote. The original deadline for votes was Nov. 11.

-Lindsay Neary