The Regents' Professorship is one of the University's Distinguished Professorships. It recognizes a faculty member who has rendered outstanding service to the academic community or to an academic or professional discipline through extraordinary achievement in academic administration or professional service.
In the year of designation as a Regents' Professor, each individual will receive a one-time award of $10,000 and a permanent salary increase of 10% or $10,000 minimum starting in the subsequent fiscal year.
The term of a Regents' Professorship is continuous until retirement or separation from the University.
Nominations are due to the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost by October 31, 2025, through the Faculty Awards and Honors Packets Dropbox.
Nominees must be full-time faculty members who hold regular faculty appointments. The faculty member must have been a University of Oklahoma employee during the period for which the outstanding contributions are being recognized; previous accomplishments at other institutions, if applicable, may be used in support of a continued outstanding performance. Persons named Regents’ Professors are not eligible in subsequent years for a Presidential Professorship. Recipients are eligible for a David L. Boren Professorship, David Ross Boyd Professorship, and George Lynn Cross Research Professorship.
Nominees from the Norman campus must be tenured full-time faculty members. Nominees from the Health Sciences Center campus may include both consecutive term and tenured/tenure eligible faculty. Nominees will normally hold the rank of full professor but associate professors may be considered. The faculty member must have been a University of Oklahoma employee during the period for which the outstanding contributions are being recognized; previous accomplishments at other institutions, if applicable, may be used in support of a continued outstanding performance in the area of the specific award. Recipients are not eligible in subsequent years for a Presidential Professorship. Recipients are eligible for a David Ross Boyd Professorship, David L. Boren Professorship, and Regents’ Professorship.
The Senior Vice President and Provosts will solicit recommendations for the professorship by September 15 and announce appropriate schedules for processing the nominations. Furthermore, the solicitations will be posted on the appropriate campus website, for access by nominators and faculty on all campuses.
Nominations should derive from administrative leaders at OU, including administrative officers, current and former department chairs, college Deans, and Provosts. Packets must be assembled by the nominee's administrative and/or evaluatory unit. Nominations are due to the respective Senior Vice President and Provost by November 1 (or the closest business day if this date falls on a weekend).
Nomination packets must include the following, not to exceed 25 pages combined:
In addition, the nomination packet may also include up to five letters of support, either internal or external, but favoring at least two external letters. Letters must specifically address the criteria of the Professorship. These letters of support will not count toward the 25-page limit.
The following sequence should be followed. Begin page numbering with the letter of nomination.
All materials listed above should be submitted as a single combined PDF via the Faculty Awards and Honors Packets Dropbox.
The University Council on Faculty Awards and Honors shall consider only the formal nominations. The Council shall forward to the Senior Vice President and Provosts its recommendation(s) for their review. The Council also shall transmit all substantiating materials pertaining to all nominees.
The Senior Vice President and Provosts will review the nominees and forward their recommendations along with all substantiating materials, by February 1 to the President, who will make the recommendations to the Board of Regents.
The final selection of the recipient(s) will be made by the Board of Regents.
The final selections will be announced for the Norman Campus at the annual Faculty Awards and Honors ceremony and for the Health Sciences Center at the Spring General Faculty Meeting.
In the year of designation as a Regents’ Professor, each individual will receive a one-time award of $10,000 and a permanent salary increase of 10% or $10,000 minimum starting in the subsequent fiscal year.
The term of a Regents’ Professorship is continuous until retirement or separation from the University.
This award for the Norman campus is hosted by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost. For questions about this award, please contact the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost at facultyawards@ou.edu.
The Regents Professorship was established on November 12, 1943, on action by the University Regents. The first four appointments were effective January 1, 1944. Upon his retirement from the University in 1968, the Regents re-named this professorship for George Lynn Cross.
