Features of the Program:
The program directly supports LSU's strategic vision to support faculty in achieving the highest levels of excellence through the following features:
- Tracking and publicizing all external awards held by LSU faculty
- Providing stipend support to incentivize the pursuit of highly prestigious and prestigious pathway awards
- Offering proactive course release support so faculty can prepare competitive award applications
- Honoring faculty recipients of all national awards through congratulatory letters from the Provost; letters also sent to recipient’s Dean and Department Chair for recognition
- Facilitating campus-wide announcements of awards in partnership with the Office of Marketing & Communications, the Office of Research & Economic Development, and individual colleges
- Hosting an annual Gold Standard of Excellence event to honor awardees.
More than 200 LSU faculty have received awards and honors classified by the National Research Council as highly prestigious or prestigious pathway awards.
Stipend Information
Stipend Amounts
Stipends are available to faculty members (not staff), regardless of rank or title. Subject to fiscal availability and annual budgetary review by the Office of Academic Affairs, the following stipends are currently in effect:
| Highly Prestigious Award | $10,000 one-time stipend per qualifying award |
| Prestigious Pathway Award | $5,000 one-time stipend per qualifying award |
| Additional External Award | No monetary stipend; recognition only (website listing and Provost letter) |
Important Notice: Funding for stipends is contingent upon fiscal availability and subject to change based on budgetary constraints. The Office of Academic Affairs will confirm fiscal availability before communicating stipend amounts to recipients. Stipend amounts are reviewed annually and may be adjusted.
Stipend Eligibility Rules
The following rules govern faculty eligibility for stipend payments
| Rule 1 — Three-Year Per-Category Limit | A faculty member may receive no more than one stipend per award category (Highly Prestigious or Prestigious Pathway) in any rolling three-year period. For example, a faculty member who receives a Highly Prestigious Award stipend in 2026 is not eligible to receive another Highly Prestigious Award stipend until 2029 at the earliest, even if they receive an additional Highly Prestigious Award before that date. |
| Rule 2 — One Stipend Per Calendar Year | No faculty member will receive more than one stipend of any kind under this program in a single calendar year (January 1 through December 31). If a faculty member qualifies for stipends in two categories in the same calendar year, the Office of Academic Affairs will work with the faculty member to determine which stipend is processed, and the remaining stipend will be deferred to the following calendar year, subject to fiscal availability and the three-year per-category rule. |
| Rule 3 — No Retroactive Stipends | Stipends are not awarded retroactively. Awards received prior to January 1, 2025, are not eligible for a monetary stipend under this program, regardless of when the submission is made. However, faculty who received qualifying awards prior to 2025 are encouraged to submit their award information; their awards will appear on the appropriate page of the program website. |
External Awards and Recognition Ceremony
To be held annually in early spring, the External Awards and Recognition Ceremony will honor all recipients of national awards during the previous calendar year. At the ceremony, recipients of highly prestigious and prestigious pathway awards will also be honored with a stipend (amounts to be determined).
Course Release Program
Starting in the fall of 2025, faculty may apply for a course release program, which will grant them time to prepare proposal/applications for highly prestigious awards.
Petition for Award Addition
Faculty may petition to have an award added to the highly prestigious and prestigious pathway awards listing. The award must be highly competitive and bring international and/or national visibility to LSU.