Awards

The William P. and Estan J. Bloom Award

The Bloom Award honors a student who has improved relations among different groups. Past recipients have been chosen primarily for improving understanding and supporting interaction among groups for a common cause.

Bloom Award Requirements

Students may be nominated for this award or may submit an application that is supported by a reference letter.

• Applicant must be a current junior (will graduate next year)
• GPA of 3.2 or higher and in good judicial standing
• Essay
  • The essay should focus on the actions the applicant or nominee has taken and their participation in University groups, providing specific examples of efforts to improve understanding and collaboration among diverse individuals and groups
  • Recommended length for essays is 3-5 pages, double-spaced
• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

The Judy Bonner Presidential Medallion Prize

The Bonner Prize recognizes a member of the UA community who has gone above and beyond normal expectations to change the culture or implement new initiatives designed to advance the Alabama experience for all undergraduate students or a segment of the undergraduate population (i.e. first-generation, veterans, students in Greek-letter organizations, student leaders, athletes, students studying abroad, etc.).

The award recognizes an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the Alabama experience, positively impacting undergraduate students.

While the recipient will typically be a member of the faculty or staff, others, including alumni, departments, and student organizations, can be nominated when warranted.

Bonner Prize Requirements

This award is specific to nominations only, and all candidates must have a nomination form submitted.

• Applicant must be a member of the UA community – either a student, a non-student, or an organization
• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages double-spaced

The Morris Lehman Mayer Award

Recipients will exemplify the life of Morris L. Mayer through selfless and significant service and leadership for the UA community, significant contributions to student life and integrity. Professor Mayer’s career exemplified the importance of enriching the undergraduate student experience. Therefore, priority should be given to faculty candidates with extensive service in this area. The award will be presented to one current senior (graduating this year) and one teaching faculty recipient.

Mayer Award Students Requirements

Students may be nominated or submit an application supported by a reference letter.

• Student applicants and nominees must have a GPA of 3.3 or higher and be in good judicial standing
• Essay
  • The essay should include the applicant or nominee’s definition of “community and civic service,” as well as a discussion of their significant contributions to the quality of life of the student community
  • Recommended length for essays is 3-5 pages, double-spaced
• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

Mayer Award Faculty Requirements

Faculty must be nominated for this award.

• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

The Catherine J. Randall Award

Recognizes the most outstanding student scholar at UA based on GPA, rigor of course study and extraordinary scholarly or creative endeavor. Applicants may come from any academic program of study, as scholarly and creative activities from within all majors will be considered for this award.

Randall Award Requirements

Students may be nominated or may submit an application that is supported by a reference letter.

• Applicant must be a current senior (graduating this year)
• GPA of 3.9 or higher and in good judicial standing
• Essay
  • The essay should make the case that the applicant or nominee is the most outstanding student scholar at UA based on the above criteria.
  • Recommended length for essays is 3-5 pages, double-spaced
• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

The award honors one member of this academic year’s graduating class as well as one non-student. The recipients of the award have demonstrated the highest standards of scholarship, leadership and service. The award recognizes the practical application of noble ideals and is based on excellence of character and service to humanity.

Sullivan Award Student Requirements

Students may be nominated or may submit an application that is supported by a reference letter.

• Applicant must be a current senior (graduating this year)
• GPA of 3.0 or higher and in good judicial standing
• Essay
  • The essay should include the applicant or nominee’s definition of “character,” as well as a discussion of their significant contributions to the University and the community that incorporate that view of character.
  • Recommended length for essays is 3-5 pages, double-spaced.
• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

Sullivan Award Faculty Requirements

Faculty, staff and UA community members must be nominated for this award.

• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

The John Fraser Ramsey Award

The John Fraser Ramsey Award is not exclusively a service, leadership, or academic award. It honors a distinctive kind of excellence. The Ramsey Award recognizes a junior for versatility of gifts and attainments, as well as the breadth of excellence in mind and character, that have traditionally been the goals of a liberal education. The Ramsey Award is presented to a junior with broad interests related to the humanities who has exerted a positive influence on his or her contemporaries.

The Ramsey Award consists of a monetary award and a travel award in support of a Great Ideas Tour (GIT). The GIT is named for the signature class taught by John Ramsey in his 42 years as a history professor at the U of A and is the opportunity for Ramsey recipients to travel to Europe and discover their own sense of possibility and responsibility within a global humanity. While encompassing aspects of both the best vacation and the most demanding study abroad program ever, the GIT is neither. Members of the Ramsey Board help recipients craft informed, intentional tours that provide authentic encounters and space for reflection while embracing Dr. Ramsey’s joie de vivre.

Ramsey Award Requirements

Students may be nominated or may submit an application for this award that is supported by a reference letter.

• Applicant must be a current junior (graduating next year)
• GPA of 3.3 or higher and in good judicial standing
• Essay
  • Because versatility is an important component of the Ramsey Award, the application essay should demonstrate breadth in academic and nonacademic pursuits, as well as the ways in which applicants have been a positive influence on their contemporaries. The essay should also include a page on what applicants would hope to accomplish and experience on the GIT. Applicants for the Ramsey must be juniors enrolled full-time at UA.
  • Recommended length for essays is 3-5 pages, double-spaced
• Nomination or reference letter
  • Recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages, double-spaced

The Graduate School Premier Award

This award honors a graduate student whose University of Alabama experience encapsulates the University’s tripartite mission of teaching, research and service.

Requirements

Students may be nominated or may submit an application. Nominated students must still submit an essay, and students who apply must still be supported with letters of recommendation.

• Any currently enrolled graduate student is eligible for this award
• Students must graduate in the spring semester or later following the submission of an application or nomination
• Three letters of recommendation are required
  • The recommended length for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages double-spaced
• Essay
  • The essay should focus on the manner in which the applicant or nominee has woven together their teaching, research and service to advance the mission of the University. The essay should include evidence of the impact on each of teaching, research and service both internally and externally.