Calvin Smith Award Winners Announced

When graduate students exemplify outstanding work on their capstone initiatives (thesis, project, or internship), the Museum Studies Department recognizes outstanding capstone work with its Calvin Smith Award. This is for a capstone experience that goes well beyond meeting professional standards.  It shows a commitment to the project, a desire to be a leader in the museum profession, and demonstrates a mastery of the principles and practices of the museum profession at an exemplary level. Recipients of this award receive a museum publication (book) of their choice and a certificate recognizing this achievement. This year we recognize two students: Dali Atchley and William Bullard.

Dali Atchley’s professional project “Steamboat Heroine: The Development of a Curriculum,” combined research on educational curriculums in the museum field with a virtual internship with the Oklahoma History Center. She developed an educational e-exhibit and explored the realities of working virtually on an educational online exhibit while critically and thoughtfully comparing her work against the research she compiled. In a year when museums’ work pivoted due to the challenges caused by the pandemic, Dali’s outstanding professional project incorporated theory, practice, analysis, reflection, and insight.

William Bullard’s thesis “To Survive or Thrive: Exhibit Development in the Age of COVID-19” used case studies and a survey of museum professionals to examine how Texas museums responded to the COVID pandemic and the national protests that broke out after the murder of George Floyd. William’s project exemplified the qualities of an outstanding Museum Studies thesis demonstrating engagement with the field and willingness to engage in a thoughtful, methodical process of research, writing, and revision.

Please join us in congratulating Dali and William on their excellent work!