Student Awards

Allen W. Edson Award

The Edson award is presented annually in recognition of a student's total contribution to campus life. The award was established in 1960 from funds donated in memory of Allen W. Edson, superintendent of the West Central School of Agriculture from 1948 until his death in 1958, for whom Edson Auditorium is named.

The award recognizes outstanding achievement, scholarship, leadership, and character. The participation of the student in campus activities, along with his/her executive service and nature of offices held, are two of the suggested indications of a student's potential to receive a nomination.

Edith R. Farrell Award

Established by the family, students and friends of Edith Rodgers Farrell, late professor of French and advocate of undergraduate student research, this award is granted annually to a graduating senior whose research is judged by a jury of faculty to be excellent. The Edith Rodgers Farrell Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research will include a certificate and $500.

Criteria

1. The research project must be student-initiated
2. The results of the research project are to have been presented in a public forum such as:

• the publication of one's scholarly or original work or a performance/exhibit of one's interpretive/creative work in a recognized public forum beyond campus;
• a presentation at a local, regional, national or international conference devoted to undergraduate student research;
• a presentation on campus open to the public of the results of one's scholarship or of original or interpretive work in the creative and performing arts.

3. The recipient must be a graduating senior with a GPA of at least 3.0
4. Preference will be given to students who aspire to graduate or professional school
5. The award is independent of financial need

Nomination Procedure

1. UMN Morris faculty members are invited to nominate one or more students who fulfill the expectations of the award.
2. A brief statement describing each nominee's qualifications and providing a basis for their selection shall be submitted.

Selection Process

The award will be given as part of the student honors ceremony.

Mimi Frenier Award in Women's Studies

Established in 2003, the Mimi Frenier Award in Women's Studies is a yearly award established to recognize gender, women, and sexuality studies majors who have achieved excellence both in academic performance and in civic activism or engagement. This award is given in recognition of Professor Frenier's outstanding contribution to the develoment of the gender, women, and sexuality studies program at the University of Minnesota at Morris.

About Mimi Frenier

Shortly after joining the faculty in 1978, Professor Mariam (Mimi) Frenier undertook vigorous efforts to elevate the visibility of women's issues and enhance the status of women in the entire campus community and beyond at a time when it was not popular to do so. Among the many equity issues that she took up were hiring, salaries, promotion, housing, support for non-traditional students, and participation in sports. In addition, she introduced courses in women's history and women's studies, and she was one of the leading forces for the establishment of the Women's Studies minor (1979) and major (2000).

Whether advocating for all women or counseling individual women, Professor Frenier has been exemplary in her tireless efforts on their behalf. With this award, we gratefully acknowledge her many contributions and achievements and her unwavering support of an improved status for women and we celebrate two areas in which Professor Frenier's contribution to the experiences of gender, women, and sexuality studies majors has been distinctive: her scholarship and her active commitment to her ideals.

Nomination and Selection Process

1. Every year, during spring semester, a call for nominations is sent to all faculty teaching gender, women, and sexuality studies courses.
2. The faculty completes the nominating form and sends it to the gender, women, and sexuality studies coordinator.
3. The coordinator and the members of the gender, women, and sexuality studies advisory board review the nominations and choose the recipient for the award.
4. The award is presented before the end of the Spring Semester.

Criteria

Nominees must have junior or senior standing or have completed (or be in the process of completing during the semester in which they are nominated) 24 credits in gender, women, and sexuality studies. The nomination form must contain evidence of outstanding achievement in two areas:

1. Academic superior achievement within gender, women, and sexuality studies. Preference will be given to students carrying a GPA of 3.5 or above within the gender, women, and sexuality studies major and who have completed projects, such as works of arts, paper, panel presentations, which have been accepted for a show or a conference, etc.
2. Social, political, civic activism, e.g., organization of a public event with a social, political, or civic purpose, service project to benefit a community, etc.

Curtis H. Larson Award

Curtis Larson was UMN Morris's first class speaker in 1964. He entered the Peace Corps after graduation and died in an automobile accident in Ecuador. Candidates for this award should be actively involved in the campus community, have the ability to represent the views of the graduating class and of UMN Morris as a whole, and be a capable speaker.

Nomination and Selection Process

Nominations are sought electronically each spring, after which a ballot is prepared and distributed to faculty and graduating seniors.

The senior who receives the most votes is the recipient of the Curtis H. Larson Award and is thereby named the student speaker at Commencement.

Scholar of the College

The Scholar of the College awards are selective and are presented annually to students who have demonstrated distinguished contributions to scholarship (e.g. research, artistic endeavor, performance) in one or more of the academic disciplines. Students are nominated by faculty and endorsed by the Functions and Awards Committee.

A student must be nominated with substantiation by one or more faculty. The Functions and Awards Committee reviews nominations. Those nominations endorsed by the Committee are:

1. Submitted to the Steering Committee for approval
2. Circulated to faculty for perusal
3. Submitted to the Campus Assembly for discussion and approval.

The award may be given to a student more than once.

Mary Martell Award: Student