PACE Award for University College Students

To qualify for the PACE award, you must be a first-semester freshman in Fall 2024 and achieve a 3.25 GPA over 14 hours. You must also demonstrate participation in campus clubs and activities, community service, and leadership positions on campus.

About the PACE Award
During the 1995-1996 academic year, University College Assistant Dean Myrna Carney and Director of Advising Sue Shellabarger dreamed of finding a vehicle to recognize and honor freshmen who excelled during their first semester at the University of Oklahoma. These conversations resulted in the creation of University College PACE Award.

PACE awards represent outstanding accomplishments in four areas, limited to student performance during the fall semester only.
The PACE acronym is interpreted as:

• Participation in recognized campus clubs and activities
• Academic achievement with a minimum of 3.25 in 14 hours
• Community service either on campus or in the metro area
• Excellence in leadership positions on campus including residence life

Freshman students may be nominated by faculty, staff, academic advisers, organization sponsors, student organization presidents, and housing resident advisers, or students may self-nominate. A committee composed of University College administrators and staff reviews all nominations and then selects up to one percent (1%) of the total number of entering freshmen in any given year as PACE recipients.

Students who submit applications for PACE Award will also be considered for other University College awards, such as the McLaughlin and Balch Awards, the Myrna Carney Award, the Phi Kappa Phi Award, the Paul Judice Environment Award, the Sylvia Corwin Education Award, University College Awards, and the Dan Tankersley “Boot Strap” Award.