May 26, 1999
Vickie Lynn Olson, P.O. Box 1308, Lawrence, received the award, which includes a $600 stipend.
Olson received her bachelor's degree in sociology and in women's studies. She was a student in the McNair Undergraduate Scholars Program and maintained a 3.47 grade-point average. Olson will begin graduate work this fall in sociology at KU.
The award recognizes a graduating senior in the social sciences who is planning to continue his or her professional education. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of their scholarship in the social sciences, particularly in the fields of learning and social action that characterized Gibson's life.
The award was established following the 1955 death of Hilden Gibson, a KU professor of political science and sociology. He was also chairman of human relations and initiated the Cooperative Housing Movement of Students at KU. He organized the first self-study groups in eastern Kansas communities and began a hospital-study program in racial minority areas of Kansas City, Kan.
The award fund is administered by the Kansas University Endowment Association.
Story by Camille Payne, (785) 864-8860