Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence Scholarship Criteria

The Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence was created by the Supreme Chapter of OKU to recognize a rising third year dental student at each component chapter school who has demonstrated scholarship, character, and the potential promise for advancement of dentistry and service to humanity as shown by Dr. William S. Kramer’s dedication to his profession, his specialty, and the principles and ideals of Omicron Kappa Upsilon. A two-thirds affirmative vote of the faculty members of the component chapter is necessary for selection.

The recipient of the Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence at Omega Omega chapter also receives a $10,000 scholarship presented by the OKU-Omega Omega Scholarship Foundation.

The following criteria and protocol are used by Omega Omega chapter to determine the recipient of the Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine:

1. The Dr. William S. Kramer Award of Excellence is given to the rising third year dental student who after completion of 2 years of dental education at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine has the highest grade point average (GPA) on file with the Office of the Registrar, barring no evidence of misconduct that would call into question his/her personal or professional integrity. (The GPA reported by the Registrar is carried to the thousandths decimal place.)

2. The rising third yeard dental student must have completed both years of his/her dental education at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, and be a full-time matriculated student taking a “full” academic course load as defined by the Office of the Registrar,
a. “full” academic course load is defined as all course work for a particular class as published in the academic schedule, and
b. the student must take all published courses for grade and credit.

3. If a student elects to waive a course either by credential review or examination, then that student no longer meets the definition of taking a “full” academic course load as defined in # 2 above and is therefore ineligible for consideration for these awards.

4. The rising third yeard student’s transcript must contain no incomplete grades at the end of his/her second year.

5. The rising third year student must have received no “D” or “F” grades during his/her course of study at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

6. When this student has been identified by Omega Omega chapter, the Dean, the Associate Deans of Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Clinical Affairs and the Registrar will be contacted to verify that there has been no evidence of misconduct that would call into question the candidate’s personal or professional integrity.

7. If after receipt of these reports the Kramer Award subcommittee has reason to question the candidate’s eligibility for the awards, and therefore does not feel able to recommend the candidate for the awards, the subcommittee will forward its concerns to the Executive Committee. If the Executive Committee is in agreement, then the candidate will be dismissed from consideration for the awards and the next highest ranked student in the class will be considered.

In the event that there is a tie for the highest GPA at the end of the first and second years, and the candidates successfully satisfy the requirements as outlined above, the following mechanism will be used to break the tie:

a. If the candidates still remain in a tie, then the sub-committee will consider the candidates in the following areas while matriculated at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine:

1. Participation in research,
2. Publications in peer reviewed journals,
3. Student government participation,
4. Service to community,
5. Honors and awards, and
6. Service to school (other than student government).

Each category will receive a credit of 1. The candidate with the highest point total will be presented to the chapter at its annual business meeting for final consideration. At that time the candidate must receive approval by 2/3 of the active members in attendance at the meeting,

b. If any candidates still remain in a tie, then the sub-committee will consider only the GPA of the remaining candidates’ second year while matriculated at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. The candidate with the highest GPA for his/her second year will be presented to the chapter at its annual business meeting for final consideration. At that time the candidate must receive approval by 2/3 vote of the active members in attendance at the meeting,

c. If any candidates still remain in a tie, then the sub-committee will consider only the GPA of the remaining candidates’ first year while matriculated at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. The candidate with the highest GPA for his/her first year will be presented to the chapter at its annual business meeting for final consideration. At that time the candidate must receive approval by 2/3 vote of the active members in attendance at the meeting,

d. If any candidates still remain in a tie, then the remaining candidates will be presented to the membership at the annual meeting for a vote. All active members at the meeting will be eligible to vote except for the presiding officer, who will cast a ballot only in the event of a tie. The candidate who receives the majority of the votes cast, will be presented to the chapter for final consideration. At that time the remaining candidate must receive approval by 2/3 of the active members at the meeting,