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The Buffington Award
Submitted by Helen Bridge
Chabot College
When the founding president of Chabot College, Dr. Reed Buffington,
retired in 1980, he created an endowment to be used by the college
(and later by both colleges) to present an award each year to a
faculty member for all-around excellence in their teaching career.
This award also includes a check from the fund. This award is
considered the most prestigious honor a faculty member can receive.
 A large plaque, along with a check, is given to the recipient during
convocation at the beginning of each school year. The engraved
plaque reads as follows:
Reed L. Buffington
Faculty Excellence Award
In Recognition of Professionalism
of the Highest Order and
Outstanding Contribution toward
The Achievement of the Objectives of
The Chabot-Las Positas Community College District
The Faculty has selected
(recipient’s name here)
(year of award here).
Dr. Buffington's standing in the college community, along with the
"faculty centered" nature of the award, immediately made it a
subject of great enthusiasm and interest among faculty and staff. In
the early years of the award, numerous nominations were made every
year, and interest was very high on the first day of school to see
who got "The Buffington." Over the years since then, nomination
numbers have fluctuated up and down, partly because some senate
presidents have been a bit late in getting announcements out, and
partly because in some years, faculty have been busy with other
tasks such as program review, accreditation, or other extra
responsibilities. Since the development of Las Positas College,
there has been an unofficial effort to alternate the award between
the two campuses, though that doesn't always happen. With two
colleges participating, award judges usually have a pile of at least
nine or ten nominations, as well as candidate letters, to read and
evaluate. As a look at the list of winners will confirm, they come
from various disciplines across both colleges. What they share is a
kind of exceptionalism that all of us as teachers try to emulate. We
learn from, and are inspired by, their achievements. Dr. Buffington
managed to create an ingenious way to inspire excellence in his
faculty even when he would no longer be there in person to lead
them.
Because of the logistics involved, the award has usually been
presented near the end of the morning's activities in the auditorium
at Chabot College, where faculty from both campuses have assembled.
That tradition, though, will likely be changed now that Las Positas
has its own large facility.
There is always a great sense of anticipation before the
announcement, because every attempt is made to keep the award
winner's name a secret beforehand. When it comes time for the
presentation, both faculty senate presidents are on stage, and the
first indication of which school's faculty member will be honored is
when one or the other senate president is introduced to make the
announcement. On some occasions, the winner will have been notified
before the official ceremony, and in those cases, the winner has a
chance to compose a short speech when he or she comes to the stage
to accept the award. Other times, winners just have to "wing it,"
and do their best to say something coherent at a time when they are
likely feeling surprised and overwhelmed. In either case, the moment
is thrilling and inspiring for both the recipient and the audience,
even more so when the previous speeches and announcements about the
upcoming year seem grim or dull, as they often do.
Even after twenty seven years, the Buffington Award is one of the
most talked-about happenings of the school year.
Winners
 Since the award’s inception, twenty seven faculty members have
received the Buffington Award. These outstanding teachers are listed
below.
1986 Joy Sanderson, Chabot (1971-1987)
1987 Harold Lubin, Las Positas (1961-1988)
1988 Jack Healey, Las Positas (1966-1992)
1989 Mary Lou Fitzgerald, Chabot (1964-1990)
1990 Larry Toy, Chabot (1969-1999)
1991 Don Nilson, LPC (1974-1991)
1992 Don Eaton, Chabot (1963-1994)
1993 Glenn Malcolm, Chabot (1963-1994)
1994 Robert Dahl, Las Positas (1967-1996)
1995 Billy Smith, Chabot (1965-1997)
1996 Jerry Ball, LPC (1964-1996)
1997 Helen Bridge, Chabot (1975-1997)
1998 Zack Papachristos, Chabot (1969- )
1999 Juliette Bryson, LPC (1971-2004)
2000 Bob Wiseman, Chabot (1975-2004)
2001 Esther Goldberg, LPC (1970-2001)
2002 Dick Albert, Chabot (1962-2002)
2003 Sophie Rheinheimer, LPC (1975- )
2004 Linda Barde, CC (1975- )
2005 Peggy Riley, LPC (1985-2005)
2006 Dennis Chowenhill, CC (1977- )
2007 Alene Hamilton, LPC (1980-2004)
2008 Susan Sperling, CC (1987- )
Criteria and Protocol
Dr. Buffington suggested that criteria for the award be developed by
the faculty themselves, and accordingly, those criteria were
developed and have been used ever since. These criteria are listed
below. The Buffington Award
Makeup of Selection Committee
The committee shall be made up of three faculty members: the winner
of the last Buffington Award, plus one faculty member from each campus,
chosen by the respective senates. The chair of the committee shall be
chosen by committee members. Nominee Pool
Nominations for the Buffington Award shall be made yearly by faculty
members of both campuses. Instructions for nominations and other award
information shall be distributed by Faculty Senate Presidents of each
campus to their respective faculties. This distribution should take
place early in Spring Semester, since award criteria specify that
nominations should close by March 30th of each year. Members of the
Award Committee should be appointed by March 15th, and should make every
effort to keep the selection timeline on track, since late starts and
incomplete information result in a last-minute scramble to select a
winner. Since nominating a fellow faculty member or responding to a
nomination is a time-consuming project, nominees for the Buffington
Award shall remain the pool of applicants for three years.
Criteria For Award
I. Demonstrated evidence of excellence in
teaching and commitment to students.
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A. Created or developed curriculum,
programs, or methodology in his/her field of education at the
college.
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B. Demonstrated involvement with students in
a variety of teaching activities, such as: one-to-one
assistance; innovative classroom methods; field trips or
associated appropriate enrichment activities; and extension of
the subject matter to a range of students.
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C. Demonstrated involvement and success in
improving instruction both in the subject area of the field and
in related areas. Examples might include: introduction of
cross-discipline or inter-discipline teaching with colleagues;
introduction of new technologies; consistent involvement in
updating and enriching the curriculum.
II. A Teacher of the Times
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A. Career-long awareness of and response to
the "outside world" and changing climate in education (i.e., new
ethnic populations, level of preparedness for college work,
etc.)
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B. Career-long awareness of the changes in
the training and outlook of new faculty.
III. Commitment to the College and Community
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A. A minimum of ten years of service
in the district.
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B. The recipient’s career should include an
awareness of the need to contribute to the college family.
Participation on committees which involve instruction,
curriculum, the betterment of instructional materials and
environment should demonstrate professional generosity and
involvement.
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C. In addition, the Reed Buffington Award
winner should see his/her job as extending to the community at
large in any way appropriate to the field or subject matter.
IV. Demonstrated involvement in professional
self-involvement
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A. Career-long evidence of involvement in
further education (not necessarily degrees, but professional
enrichment).
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B. Experience in faculty associations or
professional associations for the purpose of improving his/her
own proficiency or depth of knowledge.
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C. Knowledge of new technologies.
Procedures for Committee
Nominations shall be submitted to faculty senate presidents of the
respective colleges.
Immediately after all nominations are received, candidates shall be
notified by the president of the academic senate of the respective
colleges. This notification letter should include congratulations and
recognition of the honor inherent in being nominated for the award.
Nominees shall also be given instructions concerning their part in the
selection process.
Instructions for Award Nominees
Please write a letter to the nominating committee in which you respond
to the four parts of the award criteria. The letter should be no longer
than ten pages, and should include specific information about your
career contributions. Letters of recommendation from colleagues or
students should not be included and will not be considered by the
Buffington committee when making its selection.. You may, however,
include the names of faculty associates or students who can be contacted
by committee members. Your letter should be submitted to your senate
president by the following date:__________
Instructions for Nominating Committee
After all candidates’ letters are received by the senate presidents of
the respective colleges, the letters shall be combined with the
nominating letters. Each member of the nominating committee in turn
shall then be given the entire group of letters to read.
When all members have read all materials and compared them to specified
award criteria, the committee chair shall call one or more meetings to
determine a winner. All deliberations shall be confidential. When a
winner is chosen, the committee chair shall notify the senate presidents
of the respective colleges, who then have the task of notifying t he
district office and arranging for a commemorative plaque for the winner.
Note: The original instructions for the Buffington Award included
percentage points to be awarded for each criterion. Perhaps the next
award committee (2005) should discuss the advisability of restoring this
practice. In recent years, the percentages seem to have been
disregarded, and this may be the procedure that nominating committees
find preferable. In recent years, some
applicants’ materials have included numerous added materials such as
letters of recommendation, etc. These extraneous materials were
disallowed in the original Buffington Award brochure, partly because of
the potential imbalance of the resulting applications, and partly
because of the extra workload such materials would impose on the
nominating committee.
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