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Farm to dining idea wins grand prize at first OSU “Creativity Challenge” |
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Tuesday, 17 February 2009 |
 From left, Creativity Festival organizer John Mowen joins grand prize winners Terry Baker and Veddu Hsu following the first-ever OSU Creativity Challenge Tuesday afternoon. The pair won the $5,000 grand prize with their “Farm to University Dining” idea. First place in the student category went to Cortney Timmons, Savannah Smith and Jessica Lay for “Real Pokes Pass It On.” First place in the faculty-staff category went to Chris Ramsay for “OSU-Stillwater Cultural Center.”  From left, Chris Ramsay, Veddu Hsu, Terry Baker, John Mowen, Savannah Smith, Jessica Lay and Cortney Timmons.
(February 18, 2008 Stillwater, OK) – Oklahoma State University employees Terry Baker, University Dining Services director, and Veddu Hsu, University Dining Services assistant food services manager, earned grand prize honors in the first OSU Creativity Challenge for their proposal for “Farm to University Dining.”
“We are excited to win because we think we have a project that will impact the entire campus – faculty, students and staff,” Baker said. “Every single person can be affected.”
The idea for the proposal came from Baker and Hsu’s recognition of the need to support the local economy while educating students on sustainability and the university’s social commitment to Oklahoma. The project provides an outline for local food distribution channels, creative menu planning based around seasonal foods in Oklahoma, education about farmers’ markets and their impact on the economy, and a farmer’s market that would be created on the Stillwater campus.
The Creativity Challenge asked participants to submit proposals for projects that could help OSU become a leader in creativity and innovation and could be implemented within a three-year time frame.
“I want to congratulate the winners of our first Creativity Challenge,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “We received many wonderful ideas from students, faculty and staff. We have a goal to create a culture of creativity where all our professors, researchers, staff and students are free to explore creative ideas, to collaborate and to develop entrepreneurial programs that will involve many departments and colleges. We are off to a great start.”
The Creativity Challenge was part of the OSU Creativity Festival, which was held in conjunction with OSU Research Week and is a part of the OSU Creativity Initiative. One hundred-eighty proposals were submitted for the Creativity Challenge contest; 10 proposals were selected as finalists.
“The participation in the Creativity Challenge contest exceeded our expectations in terms of both the quality and the quantity of ideas received,” said John Mowen, professor of marketing in the Spears School of Business and OSU Creativity Initiative director. “The next challenge will be to work through the process of implementing as many as possible.”
Five teams received a total of $10,000 in prize money. As grand prize winners, Baker and Hsu received $5,000 in prize money. Students received prizes in the form of scholarships while faculty/staff winners received their prizes in the form a tax-adjusted payment.
Cortney Timmons, Savannah Smith and Jessica Lay received $1,500 and first place honors in the student division with a proposal for “Real Pokes Pass It On.” The project focused on students, faculty and staff donating discarded yet reusable materials to non-profit organizations and those in need within the OSU-Stillwater community.
Jonathan Hufnagel received $1,000 for second place in the student division. His proposal for an “OSU Student Competition Center,” was geared toward helping OSU students better compete for national competitive contests. The center would provide advisement and support for student teams entering academic contests at the local and national level.
First place in the faculty division went to Chris Ramsey. He received $1,500 and submitted a proposal for a “OSU-Stillwater Cultural Center”. In his project, Ramsey sketched the foundation for a downtown arts center where students, the public and outside artists could come to develop and enjoy art of all kinds.
Second place and $1,000 winners in the faculty division were Manny Al Harake and Mitch Kilcrease with their proposal titled, “Alternative Energy for the Student Union.” Through this project, the university would utilize wind generators and solar panels as the source for electricity in the Student Union.
Additional Creativity Challenge finalists and their proposals are as follows:
· Erin Miller, “Operation S.E.R.V.E.”
· Chelsea Cuccio, “Residence Hall Energy Conservation Competition”
· Katie Emard, “Learning Styles Initiative”
· Scott Johnson, “OSU Graduate Program in Creativity”
· Damon Blalack, “Interdisciplinary Arts on the OSU Campus”
“I would like to thank the hundreds of people who assisted in making the Creativity Festival a success,” Mowen said. “It was exciting to see students, faculty, and staff come together to make the event possible.”
For more information about the OSU Creativity Initiative, visit http://creativity.okstate.edu or call 405-744-5112. For more information about OSU Research Week, visit http://researchweek.okstate.edu. |
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