NOVEMBER 15 DEADLINE FOR $40,000 PRIZE
AT OU FAST APPROACHING

2005 Winner Stephen Levi and founder Jeanne Hoffman Smith

NORMAN – The deadline for applications and nominations for the biennial $40,000 Thatcher Hoffman Smith Creativity in Motion Prize honoring the creative process, awarded through the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences, is fast approaching. Nov. 15 is the deadline for the first phase of the application process.

Any U.S. citizen is eligible to apply for the award. Submissions are open to all fields of creativity, including, but not limited to, the arts, cultural affairs, education and science.

Applicants are asked to submit a one-page letter detailing the creative process to date of the project they are submitting for consideration. The summary should describe the vision and purpose of the project, and why it should receive special recognition, focusing on the creative process itself. Completed projects will not be considered. Four copies of the letter, signed, dated and postmarked by midnight Nov. 15, should be sent to Creativity in Motion, University of Oklahoma, College of Arts and Sciences, 633 Elm Ave., Norman, OK, 73019-3118.

After reviewing the letters, 50 individuals will be notified by Jan. 31, 2007, that they have been chosen to submit full applications, which must be completed and returned by April 1, 2007. A panel of expert jurors will review the applications and select and notify the winner in early August 2007. The prize will be awarded at a special event Sept. 5, 2007, at OU.

About the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Creativity in Motion Prize

The Thatcher Hoffman Smith Creativity in Motion Prize, established in 2002, is funded through the generous contributions of Oklahoma City resident Jeanne Hoffman Smith. This biennial award, dedicated to recognizing, honoring and encouraging the creative process, is a collaborative effort with OU’s College of Arts and Sciences. The prize awards an unrestricted sum of $40,000 to an individual whose work demonstrates original thinking and the promise of continuing creative work. It celebrates a visionary work in progress, recognizing the potential power of its original expression to affect and enrich the world around us. The work or project must be under way but not completed at the time of application. Named to honor Jeanne Hoffman Smith’s parents, Grace Thatcher and Roy Hoffman, Jr., this unrestricted award is unique in its lack of parameters.

“The Thatcher Hoffman Smith Prize reflects a growing need to financially and culturally support our country’s original thinkers,” said University of Oklahoma President David Boren. “The fact that a university with OU’s tradition of academic excellence is home to such a generous and forward-thinking concept makes me very proud. It’s a natural partnership.”