Students can compete for $10,000 to promote liberal arts

Western Washington University students have the opportunity to compete for up to two $10,000 awards to support the creation of a state-wide public relations campaign promoting the value of the liberal arts to the citizens of Washington state and the region.

The contest comes from the Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts, of which Western is a member.

The competition:

Interdisciplinary teams of no fewer than three students are invited to develop proposals for a public service campaign aimed at fostering a greater understanding of the value of the liberal arts. In addition to increasing public awareness, the competition is also intended to provide rigorous and relevant work experience for students at WaCLA-affiliated institutions. 

Individual teams may be comprised of students from a single institution or from multiple WaCLA institutions, though each team must have a designated “home campus.” 

Proposals will be judged according to the effectiveness and creativity of their advocacy. There are no other fixed set of criteria regarding what teams propose to do. However, preference will be given to proposals that include multi- and mixed-media elements (e.g., print, electronic, and/or social media).

Each campus will be responsible for determining how teams are formed and for deciding which team or teams will be selected to advance to the state competition. (No campus may advance more than two proposals.) Each proposal entered into the state competition will be featured on the WaCLA website.

The proposal:

Each proposal must contain the following (1000 words maximum, excluding appendix):

• A detailed and comprehensive project description outlining the scope of work, the target audience, the distinctive or unique nature of the approach, individual members’ roles and qualifications, expected outcomes, timeline for completion and, as an appendix, a detailed breakdown of how the project can be completed within a budget of $10,000 or less
• A brief biography of each team member (50 words maximum per member)
• An incorporation of the WaCLA logo
• A brief statement of support from a faculty member who agrees to serve as faculty advisor

Timeline

A detailed request for proposals will be posted to the WaCLA website and circulated to member institutions by Oct. 1.

Ideally, teams should provide a notice of intent to submit no later than Nov. 2. However, full proposals will be accepted until the final deadline. Electronic submissions are due to WaCLA by Jan. 20, 2016.

Winning proposals will be announced in mid-February, at which time teams will be paired with marketing mentors, and full development and implementation of the successful proposals will begin.