Awards

The Nyumburu Cultural Center has two awards that will be awarded on Sunday, May 6, 2018 at The University Students Leadership Awards Banquet - Center for Campus Life in the Grand Ballroom of the Adele Stamp Student Union at 4:30pm. (The John B. Slaughter Outstanding Senior Award, and The James Otis Williams Cultural Leadership Award).

Students, Student organizations, Faculty and Staff may nominate a student you feel is deserving of either one of these awards. Self nominations are also accepted.

*Please include student name, major, hometown, any academic honors, and any organization(s) in which they are involved.

Please write between two hundred and five hundred words describing the student qualifications to receive the award. Please submit this APPLICATION FORM AS AN ATTACHMENT by 5:00pm on Saturday, March 31st, 2018 to carswell@umd.edu.

The John B. Slaughter Outstanding Senior Award is named after Dr. John B. Slaughter who served as Chancellor (President) of the University of Maryland from 1982 to 1988. The award is presented to a Senior who has been active on the UMD campus and has been an advocate for the needs of students, as related to access, retention, and graduation.

Award Criteria for John B. Slaughter Outstanding Senior Award

1. Awardee must demonstrate a commitment to enhancing access to resources that support the inclusion of under represented student populations at the University of Maryland.
2. Awardee must demonstrate leadership in the promotion of continued cultural competence as it relates to issues of social justice and equitable treatment of students who are descendants from the African Diaspora and beyond.
3. Awardee's campus involvement should indicate involvement in programs and endeavors that support retention and academic achievement among marginalized student populations.
4. Awardee must be a graduating senior.
5. Awardee must have maintained a Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

James Otis Williams Cultural Leadership Award (Junior or Senior)

James Otis Williams served the University for 26 years. He served as the Director of the Nyumburu Cultural Center for 25 years. Williams touched the lives of thousands of students, faculty, and staff, as a professional, and friend during his long tenure at the University. The James Otis Williams Cultural Leadership Award, recognizes a student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, dedication to cultural awareness, and a commitment to higher education for students of the African Diaspora and beyond.

Award Criteria for James Otis Williams Award

The James Otis Williams Cultural Leadership Award is an award initiated to recognize a junior or senior who has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to furthering the essential mission of the Nyumburu Cultural Center, through edification and cultural competence, as it relates to cultures of the African Diaspora and beyond. Accordingly, candidates should satisfy the following criteria in order to be considered for recognition:

1. Have Junior or Senior academic status at UMD.
2. Demonstrate a history of actively engaging in the activities of the Nyumburu Cultural Center and/ or leadership and engagement with other departments or student organizations.
3. Exhibit bold determination in advancing the cause of continued student support services for students of marginalized heritages.
4. Articulate an understanding of the vices of systemic oppression and a willingness to press forward in ending its existence.
5. Awardee must have maintained a Cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.