Awards

The Department of Integrative Biology values its graduate students and their excellent accomplishments. In order to recognize the graduate students and their efforts, the Department offers several awards that acknowledge excellence not only in research but also overall academic performance and teaching. It is a remarkable honor to receive one or more of these six awards listed below while completing your tenure as a graduate student in the Department of Integrative Biology:

• Dr. Bryan P. Glass Scholarship/Fellowship in Zoology

  The Bryan P. Glass Student Scholarship/Fellowship in Zoology Fund was established in 2012 through generous donations from Dr. Glass’s former students. Continued contributions from his former students, faculty members, and his family fully endowed the Fund in November 2013. The Glass Fund is used to provide one or more scholarships/fellowships for students enrolled in the Department of Integrative Biology and conducting research in the Collection of Vertebrates, contributing specimens to the Collections as part of their research, or otherwise incorporating the OSU Collection of Vertebrates as part of their academic experience while at OSU. The Glass Fund will be used to support both undergraduate and graduate student researchers.

   

  Dr. Glass was Curator of Vertebrates from 1948 until his retirement in 1985. The son of Baptist missionaries, he grew up in China. Glass served as an intelligence officer with the 14th Air Force (the famous Flying Tigers) and the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. He received a Presidential Unit Citation and the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with two Battle Stars for his military service. After the war, Glass returned to the U.S. and received a M.S. degree from Texas A & M in 1946. Dr. Glass received the Ph.D. from OSU in 1952 and continued as a faculty member until his retirement in 1985, having received the Outstanding Service Award from OSU in 1965 and the Outstanding Teaching Award from OSU in 1966. He served as Director of the University Museum (later named Museum of Cultural and Natural History) from 1966 until his retirement. Glass also was an active member of the American Society of Mammalogists, serving as Secretary-Treasurer for more than two decades.

   

  Dr. Glass was pre-medical advisor and taught mammalogy and histology to hundreds of students while also directing the research of graduate students and conducting research on mammals of Oklahoma and Ethiopia. The OSU Collection of Vertebrates grew to become a world-class collection widely respected for its diversity under his curation.

• Dr. Sterling L. Burks Research Award

  Established in 2008, through the efforts of Jerry Wilhm and others, the endowment will allow an annual award to be given to an M.S. or Ph.D. student in the Department of Integrative Biology who has a research emphasis in aquatic ecology/toxicology. The award is intended to help support the students's graduate research project. Dr. S. L. "Bud" Burks was a professor and Director of the Water Quality Laboratory in the Department of Integrative Biology at OSU. During Dr. Burks' tenure at OSU, he was an important part of many activities in the Department of Integrative Biology. His courses in environmental sciences and toxicology enabled many students to obtain unique lecture and laboratory experiences. He guided many graduate students in research topics related to aquatic toxicology. Dr. Burks interacted with many individuals in industry and was instrumental in maintaining and obtaining funds from the Oklahoma Oil Refiners' Waste Control Council. The funds generated from these awards supported the research of many graduate students. Although he had a heavy research load, Dr. Burks was always available to serve on committees and to assist in departmental and university development.

• Outstanding Graduate Student Award (M.S. and Ph.D.)

   

• Waters Grant-in-Aid of Research

  This award was generously established by Ms. Luann Waters in honor of her parents A.A. and Mary Lue Sewell. Luann is a graduate of our department as well as a former advisor for our wildlife majors. This grant supports graduate research at the M.S. or Ph.D. level in the area of environmental stress.

   

  The following criteria shall be considered by the committee during selection:

   

  • Superior overall academic and research record
  • Expectation to present findings at departmental seminar or professional conference
• Wilhm Graduate Student Travel Award

  Established in 2012 by former Zoology department head Dr. Jerry Wilhm and his wife Winona. This award is to be given annually to a graduate student in the Department of Integrative Biology for expenses involved in attending a national/international meeting.  The following criteria shall be considered by the committee during selection:

   

  • The student must present a paper at the meeting (oral presentation preferred).
  • Student is unlikely to obtain travel support from other sources.
  • A minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
  • Satisfactory progress toward his/her degree.
  • Participation in activities such as departmental, college, or university committees; scholarly activities outside the university, presentations or publications of papers, and attendance at departmental seminars.
• Wilhm Zoology Teaching Assistantship Award (M.S. and Ph.D.)

  Zoology department head Dr. Jerry Wilhm and his wife Winona. The purpose of the Fund is to provide awards for two teaching assistants annually in the Department of Integrative Biology. Each year, one award will be given to the outstanding M.S. Graduate Teaching Assistant and one to the outstanding PhD. Graduate Teaching Assistant. The recipients must exhibit outstanding performance in his/her teaching assignment, have a minimum grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and be making satisfactory progress in pursuing his/her degree. Recipient participation in departmental, college, university and/or community scholarly activities and committees, presentations or publications of papers and attendance at departmental seminars will be taken into consideration during the selection process.

These awards are given based upon academic record and research and teaching experience, each of which is valued in a graduate student. Several of these awards are research-specific, allowing students to be awarded grants to further their thesis or dissertation project. The Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award and the Outstanding M.S. Student Award are by faculty nomination only, the others are by nomination or student application. Each year, the competition is announced in January with deadlines in February. Winners are announced at the Annual Integrative Biology Awards Banquet later in the Spring of each semester. A student can win more than one award during his/her tenure at Oklahoma State University and can win even the same award more than once (although this is not common), except for the Outstanding Graduate Student Awards, which can be won only once at each level.