College Committees – Scholarships and Awards – End of Year Report
Chair of Committee: Joel Hunt (HSS)
Committee Members: Rick Huang (ENG); Lena Surzhko Harned (HSS); Gabe Kramer (SCI); Scott Mcauley (BUS); Zachary Williams (BUS); Paul Olson (SCI); Brian Young (ENG)
Ex Officio Committee Members: Tera Van Doren; Kris Motta Torok (substitute for Ken Miller)
Meeting Dates:
- February 3 at 3:00–4:30 pm - Finalist Selection Meeting
- February 7 at 10:20–10:40 am; 3:00 - 4:00 pm - Student Interviews
- February 8 at 8:30–9:30 am; 1:30 - 3:30 pm - Student Interviews
- February 9 at 10:20–11:50 am - Student Interviews
- February 10 at 8:30–9:50 am; 2:10 - 3:30 pm: - Student Interviews
- February 17 at 8:00–9:00 am - Final Selection Meeting
Charges:
1. Select winners for the Fergusson, Hetzel, Kochel, Lethbridge, Outstanding First-Year Student, Turnbull, and Walker Awards (standing charge)
The Scholarships & Awards Committee received 29 award applications from 23 different students, which was slightly higher than the 19 unique applications we received last year. Kim Lynch in Student Leadership & Involvement compiled the application materials (i.e., nomination letters, transcripts, and resumes), descriptions, and rubrics for each award. The committee members reviewed these materials on Teams and ranked the applicants for each award. The committee chair compiled the rankings in an Excel document and scheduled a finalist selection meeting with the committee. On February 3, 2022, the committee met to select finalists for each award. Kim Lynch scheduled interviews with the students. The committee edited the interview questions from previous years and interviewed 18 finalists via Zoom on February 7, 8, 9, and 10, 2022. On February 17, 2022, the committee made final deliberations via Zoom and selected the following awardees:
- Briona Bargerstock - T. Reed Ferguson Award
- Jennifer Gustafson - Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award
- Cameron Canonaco - Irvin H. Kochel Award
- No Nominations - Jackson Lethbridge Tolerance Award
- Michaela Florence - Outstanding First-Year Student Award
- Jennifer Gustafson - Thomas H. Turnbull Award
- Josh Fardo - Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award
2. Identify and implement processes to publicize student awards and streamline applications to increase nominations.
The committee chair forwarded an award nomination invitation letter to Lisa Nelson for distribution to faculty and staff on January 3, 2022. The committee posted invitation flyers in faculty mailrooms and announced the nomination deadline in faculty meetings. Next year, the committee should distribute invitations earlier in the fall semester to encourage more nominations. Furthermore, it may be advantageous for committee members to publicize the nomination process within their respective schools. The committee should also emphasize nominations for the Jackson Lethbridge Tolerance Award, as this award did not receive nominations this year.
Suggested Charge(s) For Next Year:
- Select winners for the Fergusson, Hetzel, Kochel, Lethbridge, Outstanding First- Year Student, Turnbull, and Walker Awards (standing charge)
- The committee should meet before the finalist selection meeting to clarify the award review process. The committee may consider revising the policy of reviewing students for all awards for which they are eligible, rather than reviewing the students only for the awards for which they received nominations.
- Continue to identify and implement processes to publicize student awards and streamline the application process to increase nominations.