Purpose

The Tom L. Popejoy Dissertation Prize was established as a permanent memorial to the late Tom L. Popejoy, President of the University of New Mexico from 1948 to 1968. The award recognizes and encourages the highest level of academic excellence. Competition for the prize is structured on a three-year rotation, so that in one year, the departments of Art and Art History (including MFA) and Humanities are asked to submit their best dissertations; in the next, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics & Statistics; and last, Social Sciences and Education (including EdD). See below for a 3-year rotation schedule.

Nomination Procedures: 

The departments eligible for submitting nominations for Spring 2025 are in the third category:

• Anthropology
• Communications
• Counseling
• Economics
• Educational Leadership
• Educational Linguistics
• Educational Psychology
• Family Studies
• Health, Exercise & Sports Science
• Language, Literacy & Sociocultural Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Linguistics
• Organization, Information & Learning Sciences
• Political Science
• Sociology
• Special Education
• Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education

Nominating Units must submit the following information to the Office of Graduate Studies by the published or extended deadline:

• Nomination form
• A written overview of the dissertation and why it was chosen as the departmental nomination
• A copy of the dissertation (Graduate Studies will obtain from UNM Digital Repository)
• When possible, include the nominee’s current position and what publications/grants arose from the dissertation.

Stipend

A $2,500 stipend will be awarded at Fall commencement. The recipient should be present at Spring commencement to accept the award. 

Nomination Deadline

March 1, 2025

For additional information please contact Margaret Gonzales (margo@unm.edu).