This award, funded by the University, was established in 1988 as a way to promote the visual arts on campus and develop a significant collection of student work for the University’s permanent collection. 

The selection of the winner is made by the permanent faculty in the Art Department, thus ensuring collective agreement on the work’s relevance to the current teaching of art at Humboldt and to current issues in the art world.

The faculty who are professional artists, art educators, and art historians view the works submitted to the annual juried award exhibition and complete a scorecard, ranking their top three nominations. The artist whose work receives the most total points wins the Award.

With the President’s support of the purchase prize, the  University has developed a high quality collection of works created in a variety of diverse media, including drawing, ceramics, jewelry and small metals, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

Award Recipients

2023 - Bee Langholz, "Polysaturated", 2022, Ceramic

2022 - Rebecca Suen, "If You Still Think MSG Is Bad For YouThen...", 2022, Ceramics, underglaze, glaze, gold luster,  steel

2021 - Mykaela Montgomery, “The Forgotten Cowboy”, 2021, Colored Pencil, 16”x20”

2020 - Maya Makino titled Bald Hills, Early Spring

2019 - Katelynn Kirk, Un-titled

2018 - Alexandra Gonzalez, Let's Get Decadent

2017 - Jacquiline Langeland, Branch Study Madrone

2016 - Meredith Smith, And Then Run, soda fired porcelain,  installation size 34" x 36" x 1", 2016, ceramics

2015 - Sara Welge, Puntito, ceramics

2014 - Felix Francisco Quintana, Three Figures in Motion, archival digital print