KU Libraries now accepting nominations for the Shulenburger Award for Innovation & Advocacy in Scholarly Communication

LAWRENCE — KU Libraries’ Shulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright is now accepting nominations for the annual David Shulenburger Award for Innovation & Advocacy in Scholarly Communication through Sept. 20. 

Established in 2014 through a gift by David Shulenburger, former KU provost and executive vice chancellor, the award recognizes KU faculty, staff, students and academic departments who champion open access and innovation in scholarly communication. The Shulenburger Award is given annually for exceptional efforts to advance innovations in open sharing and advocacy for positive change in the scholarly communication system. 

“We’re proud to continue this tradition of honoring top contributors to open scholarly communication at KU,” Dean of Libraries Carol Smith said. “Librarians and scholars are continuously working together within their communities to close gaps in terms of time, accessibility and affordability of materials in the digital era. The promise of open access is incredibly aspirational in terms of where human knowledge can go.”  

In 2023 two scholars were selected — Bruce Lieberman, professor in KU’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior curator at the Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum; and Cameron Piercy, associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies and founding director of the Human-Machine Communication Lab. Lieberman was chosen as a recipient for his efforts to convert a prestigious and extensive subscription-based journal into a broadly accessible open access resource. Piercy was honored for his commitment to the advancement of open access and for mentoring students in the creation and use of openly available materials.  

Up to two individuals or departments will be selected from nominations for award amounts between $500 and $2,500. Individual awardees may be invited to serve on KU's Open Access Advisory Board, which Lieberman and Piercy have joined. In all, 13 honorees have been named throughout the award’s history. 

Nominations, including self-nominations, will be accepted until Sept. 20. Selections will be announced during International Open Access Week, Oct. 21-27. More information is available online or by contacting Josh Bolick, head of the Shulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright, by email.