Oaks Academic Technology Award
About the Award
In recognition of the visionary leadership of Dr. Muriel Oaks, WSU Dean Emeritus, the Oaks Academic Technology Award recognizes the innovative use of technology to transform teaching and learning. The award is open to all instructors on any WSU campus.
Dr. Oaks was a pioneer and visionary for 31 years at WSU. She joined WSU in 1979 and served as program director for Washington Higher Education Telecommunication System (WHETS) from 1988 to 1993. She then became director of Extended Academic Programs and culminated her career as Dean of the Center for Distance and Professional Education, now known as Academic Outreach and Innovation (AOI) and home of the Global Campus.
Dr. Oaks was known for her work in distance education and saw learning technologies as an opportunity to support the land grant mission, to expand access to WSU programs, and to improve the student experience.
Under her leadership, WSU was one of the first universities in the country to deliver video-based distance education courses. Committed to creating access to quality education globally, Dr. Oaks also oversaw the transition from online courses to full online program offerings, many of which WSU still delivers today.
Award Winners
Wallace wins 2023 Oaks Academic Technology Award
Scott Wallace, an associate professor in the computer science department at Washington State University Vancouver, is winner of the 2023 Oaks Academic Technology Award in recognition of his innovative work using Autolab software to provide formative feedback to his students.
Read the full article about Wallace on the WSU Insider.
Joy Egbert, a faculty member at Washington State University’s College of Education, is the winner of the 2022 Oaks Academic Technology Award in recognition of her work integrating the Halo Augmented Reality App into the Educational Escape Room (EER) located in the Department of Teaching and Learning.
Ben Pingel, a faculty member at Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, is the winner of the 2021 Oaks Academic Technology Award in recognition of his innovative use of multiple software tools to allow students to get online assistance with highly involved software programs required for communication coursework.
William “Dr. Bill” Schlosser, a faculty member at the School of the Environment, is the winner of the 2020 Oaks Academic Technology Award for of his innovative use of multiple software tools to give students a platform to effectively complete research activities and present their findings following WSU’s transition to distance learning in Spring 2020.
Rebecca Cooney, a clinical assistant professor in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, has been selected the winner of the 2019 Oaks Academic Technology Award for her innovative and transformative use of Google Drive to increase learning capacity.
Chris Cooney, a clinical assistant professor in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, has been selected the winner of the 2018 Oaks Award for his innovative use of the cloud-based storytelling tool Spark.
Connie Remsberg, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at WSU Spokane, has been selected the winner of the 2017 Oaks Award.
Application
Available January 2025!
- Nominate an outstanding innovator or submit your own innovative use of academic technology.
- Submission must document a current use of technology that is transformative, and ideally scalable and applicable to a variety of disciplines.
- The technology cannot create a barrier to individuals, so it should be accessible to all, affordable and user-friendly.
- The application must focus on teaching and learning, not technology for the sake of technology.
- The award is open to all instructors on any WSU campus.
The award winner will receive $3,000 in faculty development funds distributed to their academic department.