What role do designers, artists, and creatives play in enhancing mental health and well-being? How have mental health and well-being considerations become important in your work and experience at LSU? How will you champion and engage with mental health and well-being and its impact within society going forward as professional artists, designers and scholars?
The College of Art & Design is pleased to announce the 2025 Alton and Hillery Scavo Award on the theme of Design for Mental Health and Well-being for undergraduate students in the College of Art & Design who will graduate in May 2025. The Award is intended to assist graduates in their transition from academia to the professional world. Equal awards of $2,500 will be given to one student from each of the Schools of Architecture, Art, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture. The Award application consists of an illustrated essay in which students reflect on their undergraduate educational experience and envision their future engagement and impact within the context of Design for Mental Health and Well-being.
View past winning submissions.
Apply
The application period opens February 23, 2025, and closes March 16, 2025.
Eligibility
Undergraduate students in the College of Art & Design who will graduate in 2025
Award
$2,500 to one student from each of the Schools of Architecture, Art, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture (four awards total)
Theme
Mental Health and Well-being
Application requirements
Illustrated essay
- 900-1200 words
- 1-3 images max. of original work, including at least one image created for the application; or of research subjects (sites or works)
- 2-3 pages max., 11”x17” horizontal orientation (template provided below)
- Compiled as a multi-page PDF
Support
Applicants are encouraged to consult with a faculty mentor in preparing their submission, as well as with the CxC Studio.
Submission
Online via LSU Scholarship portal.
Key dates
- February 23, 2025 – Applications open
- March 16, 2025 (11:59 pm) – Applications due
- April 7, 2025 – Announcement of award winners
Jury
Nationally recognized educators and professionals (to be announced)
Publication
Winning essays will be published online and in print by the College of Art & Design.
Award Report
After three years, award winners will prepare a report reflecting on how the award has allowed them to develop personally and professionally within the context of design for mental health and well-being.
For more information, please contact or William Hunter at whunte8@lsu.edu or Brent Fortenbury at bfort@lsu.edu.
Scavo Award Illustrated Essay Guidelines
In composing your submission, keep in mind that your illustrated essay should
- Communicate clearly and compellingly your understanding and experience of the power of art, design, or scholarship to have impact on mental health and well-being.
- Reflect thoughtfully on key aspects of your undergraduate education at LSU and how they have enabled you to develop personally and as a future professional or academic to work for mental health and well-being.
- Persuasively express how you envision your future working for mental health and well-being after graduating from LSU, and what your aspirations, activities, and goals are as you enter the professional or academic world.
- Effectively integrate text and images to communicate your ideas and experience.
- Use language appropriately in your writing considering style and correct grammar, spelling and usage.
- Use images effectively considering quality of color, contrast, and composition, as well as adequate resolution.
- Above all, express your passion and vision for working toward mental health and well-being going forward in your career.
Scavo Award Illustrated Essay Template
Applicants must compose their essays utilizing the Illustrated Essay Template (InDesign file, see below) according to the following guidelines:
- Maintain tabloid page size and landscape format.
- Do not include your name, or any other identifying information on the pages.
- Title page header and page number location, font size and color are fixed. Unlock the title to add your own title text.
- Text body font is Arial, 11-point size with standard 13.2 line spacing (pre-set as ‘Basic Paragraph’ style].
- Text boxes can be any size and location within the blue guidelines indicated on the pages (top, bottom and sides)
- Images can be any size and location on the page, including full bleed to page edge, and behind text.
- Images should be JPEG, TIFF or PNG files, with 300 dpi resolution at actual size on the page.
- Acknowledge your faculty mentor at the end of your essay.
- If needed, provide citations for references using Chicago Style endnotes with superscript number markers in text. See Chicago Manual of Style Online, via the University Library.
- Export essay as a PDF for final submission – max. file size 10MB.
An example layout of Illustrated Essay is provided below for general reference only.