Final Report for
Scholarships & Awards Committee
2013-2014 Academic Year
To: Anne Galbraith, Chair, Faculty Senate
From: Kendric Nelson, Chair, Scholarship & Awards Committee (2012-2014)
Re: Scholarship & Awards Committee Final Report
Date: May 30th, 2014
The Scholarship & Awards Committee consisted of the following members:
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Kendric Nelson (Chair)
Donna Anderson
Melanie Cary
Tammy Fisher
Samantha Foley
Karl Kattchee
Marie Moeller
Sheryl Ross
Emily Whitney
Christian Wendland (Student Association Representative)
Sara Olson (UWL Foundation Scholarship Coordinator, nonvoting)
Kendric Nelson served as Chair and the recorder duties were fulfilled by Sheryl Ross. Sheryl
Ross should act as conveyor at the first meeting of next year.
Almost all members of the committee were active participants in the screening of the
qualified applicants for the scholarships and awards that resulted in the recommendation of their top
candidates to receive awards. After top candidates were identified finalists were screened to
determine which candidates were deemed most worthy of receiving the scholarship/award.
The committee interacted in various forms throughout the 2013-2014 academic year:
1. The first meeting (via E-mail) – September 17th through September 24th
An initial correspondence was started on September 17 th, 2013 to call the
Scholarship & Awards committee for its first meeting of the 2013-2014 academic year. After
feedback from the committee it was decided that voting of a Chair and Secretary via email
correspondence would be quite efficient. An email vote was called on September 19 th, 2013
to determine if the committee would hold an email election for determining the Chair and
Secretary. A 9-0-0 (Y-N-A) vote was made and the email election of the Chair and Secretary
was approved. On September 23rd, 2013 an email ballot was sent out with myself (Kendric
Nelson) as the Chair candidate and Sheryl Ross as the Secretary candidate. On September
24th all votes were counted and both Kendric and Sheryl received 9-0-0 (Y-N-A) votes and
agreed to serve as Chair and Secretary, respectively.
2. The actual charging meeting was held on February 18th, 2014
Assignment of reviewers to scholarships/awards was made (Sara Olson sent our
assignments to all). The online system was reviewed and its launch on February 24th, 2014
was discussed. Emails were sent out to those instructed to review specific
scholarships/awards. Committee members were to review assigned applicants and rank on
a scale of 0-10 (where 10 is the highest score) and then all committee members are to
review the top candidates in each scholarship/award pool). It was later determined via
Doodle survey to meet on March 28th to make decisions on the scholarship/awards and hold
any necessary Thrune interviews.
3. Selection meeting for determination of scholarships/awards recipients. Held on March
28th, 2014.
Thrune interviews were conducted for the Cashton applicants. Brookwood only had
one qualified candidate and West Salem students were on a school trip to New York City.
Brookwood recipient was determined via default and West Salem’s award winner was
determined via paper review of applicants. Thrune, Murphy, Wimberly, both Xcel
(continuing and incoming freshman), Lebeki, Singer, and the Weisse scholarships/awards
were assigned at this meeting. It was determined that voting and decisions on the West
(assigned once every 4 years) and the Harring scholarships/awards will be made via email
correspondence and online surveys. It was also decided that the McIlraith
scholarship/award (a quite large pool) would be determined by the recommendation of
several Emeriti.
4. On April 14th the West and Harring recipients were determined through email
correspondence and online surveys.
5. On April 22nd the McIlraith recipient was determined through results forwarded by Sara
Olson on behalf of various Emeriti and myself.
Overall, the following scholarships and awards were handled and awarded by the 2013-14
Scholarship & Award committee:
1. Murphy Award for Academic Excellence
2. Barbara and Carl Wimberly Scholarship
3. Larry Lebiecki Scholarship
4. Roger and Mary Harring Scholarship
5. Stuart Morton McIlraith Scholarship
6. Fred A. Singer Scholarship
7. Harold H. Weisse Award Fund
8. Richard and Ethel Thrune Scholarship
9. Xcel Energy Scholarship (incoming & continuing)
10. Esther Risberg West Scholarship
Submitted by Kendric J. Nelson (S & A Committee Chair),
Assistant Professor (Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry)
May 30th, 2014