The Donald E. Lenfest Award in Spanish
Donald E. Lenfest was an expert in historical linguistics, who started teaching at OWU in 1969. He served as Director of the Critical Language Program and chaired the Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages from 1994 until 2007, when he passed away. He endowed this award to be granted to Junior, Senior, or exceptional Sophomore students who major or minor in Spanish. The students must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.8, and a minimum of 3.5 in Spanish. It is intended for students highly motivated in Spanish (language, culture, or literature), while at the same time demonstrating a rounded academic background. The award is competitive and covers the students’ expenses for a project related to Spanish. A project may be defined as individual research (that may or may not involve travel), faculty-student cooperative research, or faculty-student participative assistantship. The students must have a faculty mentor (in Spanish) or at least faculty endorsement for the project. Upon completion of the project, recipients of the award shall share the results of their research/project with the Ohio Wesleyan campus community and submit a written report to the Department of World Languages & Cultures.
Recipients of the award will be chosen by the Spanish faculty in the Dept. of World Languages & Cultures in consultation with the Director of Financial Aid. To apply, students should write a brief proposal (~ 500 words) stating what they intend to accomplish; when, where, how, and other details; and how much funding is needed. The amount of the award may vary according to the nature of the project and the number of meritorious projects being proposed with the total sum awarded in any given year not exceeding $1,200.
DEADLINE to apply: October 15th
Recipients will be announced within 3 weeks of the application deadline. Seniors must conclude their project prior to graduation. Juniors should complete the project prior to the beginning of the fall semester of their senior year. In addition to the monetary award, recipients will be recognized at the annual WLC picnic/awards ceremony at the end of the spring semester.
