OSU campus encouraged to help select winners in first-ever OSU Creativity Challenge

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

(February 10, 2009  Stillwater, OK) - Oklahoma State University has named 10 finalists from more than 180 entries in its first-ever Creativity Challenge, which is helping launch an on-going effort to make OSU a national leader in creativity and innovation.
 
“We appreciate all those who submitted proposals for the Creativity Challenge and I congratulate our finalists,” said OSU President Burns Hargis.  “Creativity is all about coming up with new ideas that have value.  I encourage everyone to attend the Creativity Challenge presentations and help us pick those ideas that offer the greatest benefit to OSU and our world.
 
“There are no losers in this effort,” Hargis said.  “This initiative is as much about the process as it is the result.  In a short period, the campus has generated an abundance of ideas that will be shared with the appropriate areas.  Everyone, including the university, is a winner!  I have no doubt the ideas that were not chosen will be back, better than before.”  
 
The OSU Creativity Festival is part of Research Week, and begins on Monday, Feb. 16.  Finalists in the Creativity Challenge will present their ideas from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at the Student Union Theater.  Please visit creativity.okstate.edu for details on the presentations, panel discussions, terrific speakers, and the Creativity Bazaar.  For the complete Research Week schedule go to http://researchweek.okstate.edu.
 
Entries were submitted in two categories – student and faculty/staff. A vote of the audience will help determine a grand prize winner, as well as first place, second place and honorable mention winners in each category.  The OSU Creativity Initiative will award a total of $10,000 in prizes and another $10,000 for planning grant development.  Here are finalists who will present their ideas at the Creativity Challenge Contest:
 
Student Category
Jonathan Hufnagel, “OSU Student Competition Center” – The vision is to make OSU nationally recognized for its student teams winning competitive contests -- whether in the sciences, professions, or arts and humanities.  The center will provide assistance that will facilitate student teams from across the campus to enter and win regional and national contests of an academic nature.

Erin Miller, “Operation S.E.R.V.E.” – The goal is to make OSU a national leader in student service to the community.  The program will contract with students for them to provide service to the community. In return, students will receive various awards that may include discounts for local businesses and athletic and arts events at OSU.

Katie Emard, “Learning Styles Initiative” – The goal is to make OSU a national leader in adapting courses to student learning styles.  During Freshmen Orientation, each student will be tested in order to identify his/her her learning style (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic). Professors teaching general education courses will provide information on the learning style that they employ in their classes.  This information will be available to students prior to enrollment periods.

Chelsea Cuccio, “Residence Hall Energy Conservation Competition” – The goal is to make OSU a national model for sustainable practices. Residence halls will participate in a competition to decrease energy consumption.  Prizes will be awarded each semester to the winning hall, possibly including a housing rebate that reflects a portion of the dollars saved for OSU.
 
Cortney Timmons, Savannah Smith, and Jessica Lay, “Real Pokes Pass It On” – The goal is to make OSU a national leader in the recycling of usable stuff.  In the program unwanted, but usable, materials will be collected from students, faculty, and staff.  It will then be stored, and made available to OSU and Stillwater community members and non-profit organizations.
 

Faculty/Staff Category
Terry Baker and Veddu Hsu, “Farm to University Dining” – The goal is to make OSU a national leader in the use of locally grown food.  The program will incorporate the products from local food vendors and farmers into dining services at OSU.  In addition, a local farm market will be created on campus in which local food products are sold.
 
Manny Al Harake and Mitch Kilcrease, “Alternative Energy for the Student Union” – The goal is to begin the process of making OSU a leader in the use of alternative energy sources.  The program will involve making the investment required to employ both solar panels and wind generators to provide electricity for the OSU Student Union.

Scott Johnson, “OSU Graduate Program in Creativity” – The goal of the program is to further the process of making OSU a national leader in creativity and innovation.  In this program, OSU will admit 25 “Creativity Fellows” each year through a competitive process.  They will propose a significant problem on which they will work.  Each Fellow is given a stipend for four years and complete access to the resources of the university.
 
Chris Ramsay, “OSU-Stillwater Cultural Center” – The goal of the program is to further the process of making OSU a leader in creativity and innovation in the arts, humanities, and community service.  The departments of Art, English, Theater, and Music, along with Stillwater community members interested in the arts, will collaborate to purchase a building in downtown Stillwater.  The building will be used to hold arts related events of all types for the public, practice and promote traditional and interdisciplinary arts, and provide work space for juried artists from all OSU art disciplines.

Damon Blalack, “Interdisciplinary Campus Arts Program” – The goal of the initiative is to make OSU a leader in the arena of interdisciplinary arts.  The initiative will provide space on campus for an interdisciplinary arts center that will attract students from multiple disciplines (e.g., graphic design, engineering, and advertising) to work collaboratively to push the boundaries of their respective fields.