All Pratt students are invited to submit designs for the Pratt Institute Distinguished Teacher Award (DTA) Medal by March 25.  $350 will be awarded to the winner, who will be featured on the DTA Medal website. This will include images of the winning Medal and fabrication process, and a video interview with the designer and their background.

This competition is open to Pratt Institute students from all undergraduate and graduate departments. Faculty and staff who serve as advisors will be credited accordingly. Please submit design proposals to prattDTA@gmail.com by 11:59 PM on Friday, March 25, 2016.

The DTA celebrates exceptional teaching and recognizes the recipient’s commitment to Pratt’s students and mission. The goal for the Medal design is to reflect the “making” culture and diverse talents of the Institute. The winning Medal from this inaugural annual student competition will be fabricated. It will be awarded to the 2016-2017 DTA recipient at Commencement 2016. The competition is being sponsored by the Pratt Institute Academic Senate, and submissions will be reviewed by a jury of Pratt faculty and staff.

Below are details about the competition, including design specifications and procedures. Please contact DTA Committee Chair Farzam Yazdanseta and Senate President Jenny Lee at prattDTA@gmail.com with questions.

DTA MEDAL COMPETITION STANDARDS & PROCEDURES

Who is eligible to compete

This competition is open to Pratt Institute students from all undergraduate and graduate departments. Faculty and staff who serve as advisors will be credited accordingly. We encourage collaborative and cross-disciplinary teams.

MEDAL SPECIFICATIONS

Physical Requirements:

1. The Medal design can be of any form/shape that fits within a 3.5 inch diameter. Its thickness may vary as long it does not exceed 3/8 inch. Slight variations to these measurements may be acceptable and dependent on fabrication constraints.
2. The fabrication of the medal will be based on 3D printing.  Therefore a 3D file will be required. You may use any software available in the Pratt labs provided the file can be saved as an STL or OBJ form
3. Provide a way to secure a 1-inch wide ribbon so that the medal may be hung from the recipient’s neck.
4. All surfaces of the medal may be used: front, back and edges.

Text/Graphics Specifications

Placement of all text will be part of the design and at the discretion of the designer(s), within competition rules. The following text must be included:

• Name of the DTA recipient(s) and their school
• Name/signature of Medal designer(s)
• “2016-2017” (academic year of award)
• “Pratt Institute”
• “Distinguished Teacher Award”
• “President Thomas F. Schutte” (name of the Institute President)
• “Provost Kirk E. Pillow” (name of the Provost)

Recognition of Medal Winner(s)

1. Honorarium of $350.00 to the medal design winner(s)
2. Web archive of winning medals, which includes
   • profile and image of medal winner(s)
   • images of Medal and fabrication process, and
   • video of interview with the designer(s) and their background

Deliverables and Schedule

1. Entries should include a minimum 1 image each of the front and back of your design proposal.  Images should be in JPG format and not exceed 1mb each. A maximum of 4 images may be submitted. Filenames should be in the following format: yourname_DTA_01, yourname_DTA_02 etc.
2. Include entrant’s name, email address, department, year, and name of any faculty advisor
3. Submit by email to PrattDTA@gmail.com by 11:59 pm, Friday, 25 March, 2016.
4. Winner(s) shall be notified by Wednesday, March 30, 2016.
5. Any revision to the design shall be due by 11:59 pm, Friday, April 1, 2016.
6. Winner(s) and winning entry shall be announced in the second week of April, 2016.

Medal Selection Criteria

Medal selection will be based on the integrity of the design and the ability for it to be fabricated within specified budget and schedule.

Medal Design Jury

Alexia Cohen-Tortoledo, Fine Arts Jewelry Technician
Patricia Madeja, Fine Arts Jewelry Professor and Coordinator
Kirk Pillow, Provost
Jonathan Thayer, Industrial Design Professor
Farzam Yazdanseta, Architecture Professor and DTA Committee Chair
Consultants: Richard Sarrach and Jenny Lee

Design Ownership and Use

By participating in the DTA Medal Competition, entrants agree to grant the Sponsor the right to print, publish, broadcast and use the Medal design in all media.

The DTA Medal Design Jury reserves the right to require modifications to the winning medal design to ensure compliance with  fabrication and budgetary constraints. If the design cannot be modified, the Jury can then select another design from the original pool of applicants.

Two copies of the medal will be produced: one for the recipient and one for display at the Institute.

ABOUT PRATT INSTITUTE’S DISTINGUISHED TEACHER AWARD

The Pratt Institute Distinguished Teacher Award recognizes exceptional dedication to Pratt’s mission and applauds the accomplishments made over the course of an academic career. The Distinguished Teacher is nominated by students and the Award is conferred by the Academic Senate, the Administration, and the Board of Trustees. The DTA recipient addresses the student body at Honors Convocation, presents the mace at graduation ceremonies, and delivers a lecture for the Institute community.