Alan and Gloria Siegel Award in Professional Writing
Every year, the department awards a student or students with the Alan & Gloria Siegel Award in Professional Writing. This monetary award, ranging from $100 to $500, is open to any currently enrolled student in our Professional or Technical Writing programs – majors, minors, and graduate students – who produced what they believe to be excellent work/projects in a Professional/Technical Writing course from the previous two semesters. The award is endowed by Alan Siegel, president of and nationally renowned for his research on plain language and clear communication.
Eligibility
Undergraduate, graduate, and group work from the previous two semesters is eligible. (For example, work from Spring 2025 and Fall 2025 will be eligible for Spring 2026 awards.) This work may include any student work in a professional or technical writing genre, and can be print, electronic, or multimedia pieces (e.g., technical or software documentation, healthcare communication, proposals, client reports, news and other journalistic pieces, magazine writing, non-profit communication, PR and marketing documents, infographics and other data visualizations, user walkthroughs, explainer videos, etc.).
Process
Calls for nominations are made via email to eligible students in mid-February, typically with the deadline around early March. Students may self-nominate for this award. Faculty may also nominate students' projects.