GDAA

The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) is a grant initiative that supports student-led, design and research projects that critically engage topics of community, social, and economic concern within the built environment—at Gibbs College, on the OU Campus, and across Oklahoma. 

Projects may address questions such as environmental, health, and medical disparities, housing and open space, transportation, food ways and security, technology, education, etc. Projects might analyze, build, catalog, collaborate, (co)create, design, digitize, investigate, map, represent, uncover, and so on. 

Awards range from $1,500-$8,000. Number of awarded projects depends on applications. Applicants may apply for awards up to $8,000. 

 

Community Connections: Proposals that create partnerships with new and existing community organizations and local not-for-profit groups in Oklahoma to create new programs that advance aims of partners and integrate them into Gibbs College. 

Special Events & Exhibits: Proposals for the creation of exhibits of research and other work within Gould Hall that stage events, installations, workshops, develop dialogue within the community, host lectures, and so forth, addressing the issues elaborated above. 

Curricular Interventions: Proposals that reimagine the way we learn environmental design, from interventions in curriculum content to modes of teaching and learning to the design of spaces of instruction 

• 3rd and 4th-year students in 5-year UG programs 

• 3rd-year students in 4-year UG programs 

• All graduate students, except those in their final year (selected projects will commence Fall 2025) 

• Individual and team proposals are welcome

The online application will ask for the following information. See the application link for more information about specific application requirements. 

• Project Title 

• Applicant Contact Information 

• Faculty Sponsor Information 

• Project Description (500-600 words maximum) This is one of central components of the application. See the application link for more information about specific project description requirements. 

• Description of how the project engages with community concerns and disparities (250 word max) 

• Description of how the project contributes to the life of the Gibbs, OU, and/or Oklahoma communities (see evaluation criteria below) (150 words maximum) 

• Personal Qualifications Statement (500 words maximum) 

• Project Schedules (250 words maximum) See the application link for more information about specific schedule requirements. 

• Project Budget (250 words maximum) See the application link for more information about specific budget requirements. 

• Project abstract (150 words maximum)  

We recommend that you review the application early for complete details. 

The evaluation is out of a possible total of 35 points, and broken down as follows. 

• Does the application address the core purpose of the GDAA?  Does the proposal foreground community concerns and disparities? 10 points 

• Is the proposal clear, with specific, achievable objectives? 10 points 

• How does the proposed project contribute to the life of the Gibbs, OU, OK community? There must be a public dimension to the award, by which the findings or some aspect of the project is communicated to part of the Gibbs/OU community (a class, a specific community, an audience for a film or exhibition, to name a few examples), or an outside group that is collaborating with members of the Gibbs community. 5 points 

• Is the proposal feasible within the time and budget requested? Is its completion manageable within the busy schedule of the student? 5 points 

• Is the applicant qualified/prepared to carry out the proposed project? See Personal Qualifications statement. 5 points 

Workshop 1:

Monday, February 3, 12:00 – 1:00 P.M. Central Time

• Link to Join: Zoom

Workshop 2:

Tuesday, March 4, 12:00 – 1:00 P.M. Central Time

• Link to Join: Zoom

Application is due at 11:59pm on Monday, April 7th, 2025. Apply here. 

Wanda Katja Liebermann

Associate Professor | Associate Director
wkliebermann@ou.edu

Christopher Loofs

Robert L. Wesley Teaching Fellow
cloofs@ou.edu

Terri Bullard

Herb Greene Teaching Fellow

tbullard@ou.edu