Honors and Awards

Undergraduate student awards and prizes

During the spring semester, senior BFAs and BA Honors students' thesis projects are juried and selected for awards for the following categories:

• Emil Jacques Medals for Work in the Fine Art
  This is the oldest and most prestigious award given by our department.  It is given in memory of one of our earliest faculty members. The criteria for this award include artistic excellence and making a positive contribution to the spirit of community within the department.

• Radwan and Allan Riley Prize in Studio Art
  This award is made possible through the generosity of the Riley family through an endowment.  The award is given annually to a senior for excellence in their prospective field.

• Radwan and Allan Riley Prize in Design
  This award is made possible through the generosity of the Riley family through an endowment.  The award is given annually to a senior design major for excellence in their prospective field.

• Radwan and Allan Riley Prize in Art History and Criticism
  This award is made possible through the generosity of the Riley family through an endowment.

• Eugene M. Riley Prize in Photography
  This prize is granted through an endowment funded by the Riley family as a memorial to Gene Riley.  The generosity of Gene and his brothers Allan and William made possible the Edna and Leo Riley Hall of Art and Design.

• Judith A. Wrappe Memorial Award
  This award is funded through the University by the Wrappe family in memory of their daughter Judith Wrappe, a 1988 Notre Dame graduate.

• Mabel L. Mountain Memorial Art Award
  This honor is awarded by a faculty committee for the best of show at the Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition.  This award was established in 1987 by John Mountain with his two sons, Richard and David Mountain, in memory of their mother, Mabel L. Mountain. Richard was a student at Notre Dame from 1983 to 1987 (aerospace engineering, aerospace and mechanical engineering).

• Father Lauck Award
  This honor is awarded by a faculty committee for the best of show at the Bachelor of Arts exhibition.  The award is named in honor of a Holy Cross priest who was a professor or art, chair of the art department, and long-time director of the university museum.  Fr. Lauck died at the age of 92, leaving a long legacy of achievements at the university and in the art world.

• William and Connie Greif Art Award
  BFA students who pass the November presentation receive the Greif Award. This award is given to underwrite the material costs for BFA thesis projects (related to the cost of materials and/or supplies needed to execute projects and methods of display). An award letter is sent out upon successful completion of the presentation detailing the specifics.