Awards

The William P. and Estan J. 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.

• One 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 you have taken and the University groups of which you have been a part that provide specific examples of your promotion to improve understanding and collaboration among diverse individuals and groups.
  • Recommended length (double spaced) for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages and length for essays is 3-5 pages.

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, minorities, etc.).

Recognizes one 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.

• Member of UA community – either student, non-student, or 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: 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; therefrom, priority should be given to faculty candidates with extensive service in this area.

One current senior (graduating this year) and one teaching faculty recipient

Mayer Award Students Requirements

Students may be nominated or may submit an application.

• Student applicants and nominees must have a GPA of 3.3 or higher and be in good judicial standing.
• Essay
  • The essay should include your definition of “community and civic service.” Your discussion of your significant contributions to the quality of life of the student community should also be included.
  • 3-5 pages double spaced

Mayer Award Faculty Requirements

Faculty must be nominated for this award. Two different letters of support are needed.

• 1 Letter of support by the nominator
• 1 Additional letter of support
  • Faculty nominators please collect an additional letter of support from a student
  • Student nominators please collect an additional letter of support from a different faculty member
• Letters are expected to be 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.

• One 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/nominee is the most outstanding student scholar at UA based on the above criteria.
  • Recommended length (double spaced) for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages and length for essays is 3-5 pages.

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. 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.

• current senior (graduating this year)
• GPA of 3.0 or higher and in good judicial standing
• Essay
  • The essay should include your definition of “character.” Your discussion of your significant contributions to the University and the community should incorporate that view of character.
  • Recommended length (double spaced) for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages and length for essays is 3-5 pages.

Sullivan Award Faculty Requirements

Faculty/Staff must be nominated for this award.

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 recognizes in a junior the 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 is awarded 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 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.

• One 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 the UA. Learn more about John Fraser Ramsey Award.
  • Recommended length (double spaced) for nomination/reference letters is 2-3 pages and length for essays is 3-5 pages.

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 you have woven together your teaching, research, and service to advance the mission of the University. The essay should include evidence of the impact on each of your teaching, research, and service both internally and externally.