The Lighthouse Award recognizes an outstanding graduate student in the current graduating class each Spring. The inspiration for the award’s name is the 2002 book chronicling the university’s history, Lighthouse on the Plains, which was written by Dr. James Forsythe, former Graduate School Dean at Fort Hays State. View past recipients. 

Criteria for the Lighthouse Award includes classroom excellence as a graduate student; graduate research/creative/scholarly activities related to the student’s discipline; engagement in campus, community or national organizations; and leadership activities while a graduate student. Special attention is given to those accomplishments that go beyond the student’s expected work in the classroom or as a graduate assistant or Graduate Teaching Assistant.

As FHSU faculty or staff, you have an opportunity to identify and bring recognition to a deserving graduate student from the class of 2025. Although not every graduate student can be recognized with the Lighthouse Award, nomination is, in and of itself, an honor to Fort Hays State University graduates.

To qualify, nominees for the Lighthouse Award must be a graduate student of the Class of 2025 (December 2024, May 2025, or July 2025). Students who will graduate next fall or later are not yet eligible for nomination. Only students who complete all requested steps in the selection process will be considered eligible.

If you know of a student who deserves to be considered for the prestigious Lighthouse Award, please complete the online form below by Monday, February 17, 2025 at 4:30 PM. Nominations will only be accepted online. Individual faculty and staff members are limited to a maximum of two nominations. The Lighthouse Award Selection Committee will review all applications and the recipient will be announced during a recognition celebration on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM in the Peter Werth Black and Gold Room in the FHSU Memorial Union.

Thank you in advance for your participation with this program.