OSU to launch President's Cup

Friday, September 23, 2011

Oklahoma State University is introducing a new award, the “President’s Cup,” to recognize and reward creative interdisciplinary instruction, research, and/or service by the faculty.

“The President’s Cup will allow us better to recognize and award current interdisciplinary projects and stimulate future ones,” said Provost Robert Sternberg, who adds that the project must be either ongoing or have been completed within the most recent calendar year (January 2010-present) to qualify for submission.

“Each year, the President’s Cup itself will rotate for display by the next first prize winner, who will also be awarded $5,000 for professional development to be distributed equally among OSU faculty team members on the winning project,” said Sternberg.  The second place prize will be $3,000 and third place will be $2,000. In addition, all winning team members will receive a certificate recognizing their achievement in the competition.

The President’s Cup guidelines define “interdisciplinary” as a project that crosses, at minimum, two academic departments/schools within a college.  The project may, but does not have to, involve two or more colleges within the university.  Each project team must involve at least two OSU faculty members (tenure track, clinical and/or research appointments).

Each October, teams of instructors and researchers will be invited to enter the President’s Cup contest by submitting a cover-page form and maximum five-page, double-spaced prospectus summarizing (a) the team name as well as names, titles, and academic departments of all team members, (b) the interdisciplinary project on which the team has been working, (c) the extent and nature of the interdisciplinarity, (d) the duration of time the project has been in effect, (e) the main results of the project, and (f) the implications of the project for helping to support the land-grant mission of the university.

Winners will be selected by a committee chaired by the dean of the OSU Graduate College and composed of faculty, administrators, and others, as chosen by the president or his designee.  Winners will be announced by April 1.  Decisions of the committee will be final.

The formal request for proposals, cover page, and a “Frequently Asked Questions” document will be available in early October.  Questions about the competition should be directed to Dr. Sheryl Tucker, dean of the OSU Graduate College.