InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries (GFM) is sponsoring the Bosscher-Hammond Prizes, a juried competition culminating during the Following Christ 2008 Conference (FC08), December 27-31, in Chicago.

Three winning submissions will each receive $2,000 in cash and recognition during the conference. Twenty-six semifinalists will receive free registration for the main FC08 conference, December 28-31.

For a video introduction, please watch this brief film:

Note: In the video, the first deadline is stated as October 1, but this has since been pushed back two weeks to October 15. The timeline and deadlines shown on this webpage are accurate.

Contents

• Purpose
• Name
• Entries
• Timeline
• Requirements
• Criteria
• Rules

What is the purpose of this competition?

The purpose of the Bosscher-Hammond Prize Competition is to encourage the integration of faith, learning, and practice — one of InterVarsity’s core values — and to demonstrate how the academic disciplines and professions can contribute to human flourishing.

Those in the universities and professions have been given a precious gift: the ability to contribute in extraordinary, even unique, ways to human well-being. Such contributions can and should be multiplied, their stories told, and their principles advanced in all the disciplines and professions. We wish to challenge conference delegates to think of what they might accomplish in our culture if they thought of their academic and professional work in terms of its godly contribution to human flourishing.

For a working understanding of human flourishing, please read the conference thematic overview.

Specifically, InterVarsity’s GFM is holding this competition in order to:

1. Foster the integration of faith, learning, and practice within the academic and professional disciplines
2. Encourage the development of human flourishing (the theme of FC08) among academics and professionals and, through them, among all people
3. Develop skills, nurture creativity, and encourage dreaming regarding best practices within the disciplines
4. Integrate biblical, theological, and discipline-specific theory with practice
5. Facilitate mutual encouragement and challenge among delegates of FC08

Why is this competition called the “Bosscher-Hammond Prizes”?

Peter Bosscher, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, passed away on November 18, 2007. Peter attended Calvin College as an undergraduate and then went on to the University of Michigan where he received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 1981. From Ann Arbor he moved with his family to Madison, where he taught civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin. While his professional expertise was in geotechnical engineering and civil engineering materials, his career was defined by a passion for helping people. In 2003 he initiated a chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It was the joy of his professional life to see engineering students transformed as they used their skills and energy to make a difference in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Rwanda.

Pete Hammond is a retired senior staff member and vice president at-large with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. He led its Ministry In Daily Life Resource Group, formerly known as Marketplace. He was a pioneer of evangelism and ethnic ministries within InterVarsity and launched a ministry to students headed for the secular marketplace. His work with Marketplace resulted in numerous products aimed at graduating collegians and “marketplace Christians.” These have included the award-winning Word in Life Study Bible (published by Thomas Nelson), ten years of hosting the national “Marketplace Voices” daily radio program, and launching two marketplace newsletters.

Both Peter Bosscher and Pete Hammond have committed their lives to the integration of faith, learning, and practice. It is our privilege to name the Bosscher-Hammond Prizes in their honor and to commit them to the glory of the God they have served so faithfully.

What are the guidelines for competition entries?

Entries may relate to academic or professional projects in the past, present or future.

Submitted entries may focus on the entrant’s specific discipline or a related discipline or may focus on the relationship between a discipline and church or community.

For example, competition entries could include the following:

• A proposal for a research project
• A thesis or dissertation
• Works of art or media
• A narrative, fiction or non-fiction
• A business or social-development plan
• Any creative approach to addressing issues related to the chosen discipline(s) and the integration of faith, learning, and practice

All submissions should demonstrate understanding of the Competition’s purpose, guidelines, and judging criteria, as well current discourse in the relevant fields.

What is the timeline for the Competition?

Revised: October 15, 2008: “Intent to Submit” deadline

October 15: “Executive Summary” deadline

October 16-30: Semifinalists are selected

November 3: All entrants are notified of status by email

(Note: All notifications have now been sent, so if you haven’t seen yours, please check your spam filter or send a follow-up email to bhp@followingchrist.org.)

November 15: Deadline for Semifinalists’ completed Full Submissions

December 15: Panel of Judges announces the 7 Finalists

December 30: Finalists’ public presentations to the Panel of Judges at the Following Christ 2008 conference

December 31: Competition winners are announced during the final plenary session of the Following Christ 2008 conference

Or, if you prefer it laid out graphically:

What are the deadlines and requirements for entry submissions?

All deadlines are at 11:59 PM Central Time.

1. Revised: October 15, 2008: Intent to Submit

Please complete the online Intent to Submit form, which includes the names and email addresses of each member of the entry team, a primary contact member, the field the entry will fall under, and other details. (See the “Intent to Submit” form itself for further details.)

2. October 15: Email Executive Summary

Send an email to bhp@followingchrist.org with the subject “Executive Summary” and an executive summary attached as a Word document (.doc) or Acrobat (.pdf) file. Judges will review only the attachment, not the body of the email. Submitted Executive Summaries must be 500 words or less and should not exceed three 8.5×11” pages. All entries, regardless of final presentation format, must include the submission of this Executive Summary. Also required is a signed release form, which must be submitted by mail. (See the release form for details.)

The conference track leadership will form the discipline-specific juries who will review these entries and determine the 26 Semifinalists, two Semifinalists from each track, to participate in the final Competition. All entrants will be notified by email by November 3, 2008, of their entry’s status, and the Semifinalists will receive conference registration credits (and reimbursement of any payments they’ve made previously) toward the main FC08 conference by November 15, 2008 (one per Semifinalist team).

(Note: All notifications have now been sent, so if you haven’t seen yours, please check your spam filter or send a follow-up email to bhp@followingchrist.org.)

3. November 15: Completed Full submission is due.

Only those entries invited as Semifinalists will submit Full Submissions. If you are a Semifinalist, your project is due electronically by 11:59 pm, Central Time, on November 15, 2008 (or postmarked by US Mail by this date).

Electronic submissions (in Word or PDF format) should be sent via email to bhp@followingchrist.org. Written submissions must run no more than 3,000 words; non-verbal submissions may not exceed 30 pages; and audio/video submission must be 30 minutes or less. Please take care that, if at all practicable, your name does not appear anywhere in the submission except on a cover page or the like.

Non-electronic submissions should be sent to the following address, and will not be returned:

Bosscher-Hammond Prizes
InterVarsity GFM
P.O. Box 7895
Madison, WI 53707-7895

The Panel of Judges will review all Full Submissions and announce the 7 Finalists by December 15.

4. December 30: Public presentations

Each of the 7 Finalists will make a five-minute presentation followed by five minutes of question-and-answer with the Panel of Judges at the Following Christ 2008 on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 30. Participants will be notified with exact details of their presentation time and place. PowerPoint equipment as well as technical assistance will be available to the presenters.

The Panel of Judges will deliberate and announce the three Prize winners during the closing plenary session, Wednesday, December 31, 2008. Prize checks will be mailed by January 15, 2009.

What are the judging criteria?

We believe that God has called and equipped Christian graduate students and faculty to be a redeeming influence among the people, ideas, and structures of the university and professions. We are looking for ideas, creative pieces, plans or practices that have the following dimensions or commitments. (Percentage weighting shown in parentheses.)

1. Integration of Faith, Learning, & Practice (45%)

Within InterVarsity’s Grad & Faculty Ministries (GFM) we engage in learning and biblical reflection in every area of life and seek a unity of knowledge and practice, because the God whom we worship is Creator of all. We labor to form leaders in every field who honor God’s gifts and calling. We believe that the integrity of these pursuits will be a witness of his Kingdom to the academic and professional worlds.

How does your entry demonstrate the integration of faith, learning and your professional practice?

2. At least one of the following (15%)

Spiritual Formation

We as believers are called to cultivate intimacy with God and growth in Christ-like character through personal and corporate disciplines, including the rigorous study of Scripture and regular prayer that expresses our faith, love, and dependence on God.

How does your entry incorporate or enhance spiritual formation?

Community

As Christ-followers we gather regularly as communities of graduate students and faculty to learn and worship, to challenge and care for each other, and to serve as a welcoming place for both believers and seekers. We pursue ethnic reconciliation by practicing grace and truth and promoting personal and systemic justice. We also encourage students and faculty to be lifelong active members in their local congregations.

How does your entry foster biblical community?

Evangelism & Service

As a Christian community, we demonstrate and proclaim the gospel to the university with love and boldness, calling people to repentance, faith, and new life in Jesus Christ, so that he is esteemed over all else. We believe that this witness is authenticated in our service, especially to the poor and oppressed. We partner with God’s people to extend his Kingdom cross-culturally on campus and around the world.

How does your entry further evangelism and cultivate service?

3. Creativity (10%)

4. Feasibility (10%)

5. Originality (10%)

6. Judge’s Discretion (10%)

What are the rules for this Competition?

Contestant teams may consist of one or more individuals. At least one member of each Finalist team must be onsite at Following Christ 2008 to present their entry to the Jury. At least one member of each entrant team must have an active affiliation with an institution of higher education or be a 2008 graduate.

Each submission must fall under one of the 13 discipline-specific tracks offered at Following Christ 2008: Arts, Business, Education, Engineering & Technology, Government & Public Policy, Healthcare, Humanities, Journalism & Media, Law, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Social Sciences, Theology & Religious Studies, and “God’s Green Kingdom” (a track on environmental stewardship). The Competition leadership reserves the right to re-classify the stated field categories for submitted entries.

Submitted entries must meet all deadlines and submission requirements as laid out in this document.

The Panel of Judges will be made up of five people selected by the Following Christ 2008 Leadership Team.

Unless anonymity is requested in the Intent to Submit, all entrants in the Competition agree that their ideas, names, and institutional affiliation may appear in subsequent articles in both print and electronic media. All entrants grant InterVarsity the non-exclusive right to publish, in print or electronically, material submitted for the purposes of the Competition. (A release form is downloadable here and required for submission with each entry’s Executive Summary.)

Employees of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and their immediate family members are ineligible to participate in this Competition.

Any taxes on prize winnings are the responsibility of the winners.

These rules are subject to change without notice (though we expect to make every reasonable effort not to change them and to publish any changes that do prove necessary).

Thanks for participating in the Bosscher-Hammond Prize Competition. We look forward to seeing your entries!

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