Vice President for Student Affairs Kay Bales has heard the call for significant changes in the selection of student award winners, including the John R. Emens Outstanding Senior Award.
Bales, who is also dean of students, said the selection process has always been transparent, and there was never an attempt to keep it secret. However, she said she and other administrators are willing to work to improve the process.
Bales said she had assumed the identities of the committee members were common knowledge, except the names of the students involved.
“We’re very open to share what that process is, and we always have been,” Bales said.
The selection process for the John R. Emens Outstanding Senior Award came under fire after a student who had once owned a Confederate flag won the honor. Student Government Association’s Chief of Staff Chris Taylor wrote a letter to administration calling for change.
He and SGA President Nick Wilkey wanted the university to look into the award selection process, among other concerns.
The committee is composed of administrators from Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and the President’s Office, as well as at least one student. After the previous representative from University Advancement retired, Bales invited a second student to be part of the panel.
“It was a choice that I made at that point to include an additional student on the committee,” Bales said. “My thought process behind that was simply, 'This is a student award and perhaps we should have more than one student making that selection.'”
Other than the student and University Senate member, the same people have served on this committee for five years, including Bales.
“Like many university committees, they become labors of love,” Bales said. “You’re willing to become engaged in different parts of the university and to provide that service to the institution.”
The Emens Award selection process mirrors other awards on campus including service awards, as well as Provost awards and scholarships, Bales said. The review of the selection process by the university will affect more than just the Outstanding Senior award.
Bales said anywhere from 20 to 25 students are nominated for the Emens Award in a given year.
Others on campus have expressed concern about the selection process, including Mary Moore, instructor of communication studies and director of individual events, who nominated a student for the award this year.
“I thought the nomination process required the proper amount of rigor,” Moore said. “You have to have a letter of nomination. You can have letters of support, and then the candidates themselves also have to craft application materials. I think all of that is what would be necessary to earn such a prestigious award.”
However the main criticism Moore had was echoed by other students on campus: there aren't specific criteria for the award.
The nomination materials state the purpose of the award is to honor a student's "outstanding service and contributions to the university." However, no rubric or further explanation is provided to those nominating students or the committee choosing them.
Moore said the vague criteria for the award makes it difficult to select a student to nominate. If she were a member of the committee, Moore said she would prefer more details.
“What is service to the university?” Moore said. “If you have a paid role in student government, does that count as service? If you’re on a full-ride scholarship on an athletic team—because I know student athletes have won it before—is that weighed the same as someone who participates in a sport for four years but didn’t receive any scholarship money? Does that weigh into the decision of the university? Is that service if you aren’t paid? Is it service, even if you are paid?”
Bales said every year, the committee reviews the nomination process, looking for improvements. As part of her joint statement with President Paul W. Ferguson in a campus-wide email, Bales is looking at making greater changes to the committee selection and the awards process.
“Part of our review process will be looking at the composition of all of our student award committees and what that representation should look like and what it should be,” Bales said. “We’re very open to reviewing all those aspects of the process. … I think that as we go through that, we certainly will welcome all ideas, and then at the end, develop a process that makes the most sense for whatever the award is that we’re going to present.”
Students like D’Marcus Pulce, a senior telecommunications major, were impressed by the university’s openness to change.
Pulce said he would like to see more student involvement in the selection process, either by students volunteering to be part of the panel or by students voting for the Emens Award.
“I want them to walk away from this being aware that changing the criteria now may work for the next five to 10 years, but if a new senior class comes and there is an issue, they should be flexible to represent the senior class that is there,” Pulce said. “If it’s not representative of them in the future, I hope they’re able to change it again.”
Nathaniel Thomas, a junior theatre major and president of Ethnic Theatre Alliance, hopes the university will consider the multiple meanings of diversity.
“I want the board to be created [from] the absolute most diverse selection,” Thomas said. “From the race of the individuals of those participating, the colleges they come from, the departments they are in charge of, the positions they hold, from grassroots workers to administration heads.”
Both Thomas and Moore wanted more weight to be given to students who were active in the campus community and achieved high standards of academic excellence.
Bales said the committee’s decision this year was not a statement on the university’s commitment to diversity, but defended their choice.
“I think if you look at the criteria and the purpose of the award and what we reviewed as a committee, then the committee stands by that decision,” Bales said.
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