A $2,000 award and up to $10,000 to invest in the program or effort of your choosing — that is what the Ivory Prize for Excellence in Student Leadership is offering to recognize and encourage student involvement and leadership.
Clark Ivory, former chair of the University of Utah Board of Trustees, established this prestigious award to recognize extraordinary and influential student-led projects that positively impact the campus and/or the broader community. The prize is an effort to enhance the undergraduate experience and encourage student involvement and leadership. It recognizes one to two students for demonstrating a positive influence on student success and/or fostering efforts that have enabled meaningful change.
Nominations are due Friday, Feb. 23.
You are eligible for this award if you have graduated from the U since 2012, as well as those currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs. Self-nominations are welcome.
Nominate yourself or someone you know today.
Here are some of the past recipients of the Ivory Prize:
Nick Knight
Feed U Pantry
2017 Recipient
The 2017 Ivory Prize recipient was Nick Knight, a third-year student at the University of Utah. Knight has gone above and beyond in his work to develop resources and solutions aimed at addressing intergenerational, systemic issues related to individual and public health, education and social justice – particularly as they pertain to food insecurity. He is the executive director of Feed U Pantry, an on-campus food pantry, and has worked with university leadership in formulating strategies to alleviate food insecurity among members of the campus community. Feed U has served more than 1,000 people with over 10,500 pounds of food to date. Knight is the embodiment of selfless leadership this world needs.
Jacob Nold
Labs for Liberty
2016 Recipient
Jacob Nold became a part of his mother’s vision to connect trained service dogs to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The nonprofit organization Labs for Liberty has a clear goal: To create a lasting impact for the better. While the roughly 3 million combat veterans is small compared to the 20 million veterans countrywide, Labs for Liberty hopes to pick up where the Department of Veterans Affairs leaves off in terms of one-on-one veteran care. Nold noted that it can be difficult at times “not to get too emotionally invested” when working so closely with the labs and veterans, however he believes it is important to build relationships that will last a lifetime.
Allyson Armstrong and Katharine Blumenthal
Student-Run Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic
2015 Recipient
Allyson Armstrong and Katharine Blumenthal, co-founded the Student-Run Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic in November 2013. Since it opened, the Department of Physical Therapy faculty have aligned coursework with events at the clinic, including a doctoral seminar in which students reviewed and provided evidence-based critiques of care delivered by students at the clinic. The project grew to include students from the physical therapy assistant program, as well as nutrition, medicine, pharmacy and nursing and has prompted other clinics along the Wasatch Front to engage students in physical therapy clinical services.
Amanda Newman
Connect2Health
2014 Recipient
In 2012 Amanda Newman participated in an Honors College Think Tank course that challenged students to identify a problem in the community related to health care and then propose a solution. Amanda and her team quickly identified a need and took it from concept to completion. They started a student-led volunteer organization called Connect2Health that acts as a bridge between underserved patients and resources needed to lead healthier lives and served 1,000 people in the program’s pilot year Under her leadership and vision, Connect2Health continues to provided student learning and engagement opportunities while impacting underserved populations in a meaningful way. Today, with 70 student volunteers per semester, the program continues to thrive and maintains a robust partnership with 4th Street Clinic.