The late Alfred “Fred” Maurice’s curiosity and desire to see students succeed inspired him to establish a challenge prize for Western Oregon University students.
A WOU benefactor and honorary faculty member, he created the J. Dolores and Alfred P. Maurice Endowed Challenge Prize, a challenge for undergraduates who complete a year-long project in quest for a $5,000 prize.
2025 Prize winner
The 2025 Prize winner is Grace Gedlaman, a junior majoring in psychology, with minors in Communication Studies and in Art & Design. Grace’s project involved building a sense of community around the campus garden—to provide a place for students to gain a sense of belonging—and reinvigorating the operations of the campus garden. The title of her presentation at WOU’ 2025 Academic Excellence Showcase was “Thyme to Grow: Cultivating Community Roots.”
Maurice Undergraduate Initiative $5,000 AWARD
A professor to the last day of his life, Alfred Maurice continues to inspire students even after his passing. He didn’t care if students failed trying to find a solution to a problem. Instead, he encouraged students to get out of their comfort zone to learn something.
That was his incentive for creating the challenge for undergraduate students.
Students interested in competing for the prize need to:
- Identify a problem that matters to you
- Approach problem-solving in a way that demonstrates your creativity, innovation and collaboration with others—even if you don’t finish solving the problem
- Share what you learned about yourself and your abilities, what you learned about the problem, and what you think your project shows us about your own “art of living”
The $5,000 prize will be given to the individual or team demonstrating the deepest learning and problem-solving strategy.
