Murray State's Digital Commons

This award recognizes Murray State full-time faculty, staff, or students who have made significant contributions to scholarship through Open Access formats. This may include, but is not limited to: publishing articles in Open Access journals; publishing Open Access chapters or full monographs (including textbooks); or, archiving works in an Open Access repository, such as Murray State’s Digital Commons (digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/faculty). This award seeks to recognize efforts that allow the dissemination of new information that is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions, so that we may archive and promote the scholarship of Murray State faculty, staff, and students. 

This award was established by a generous gift of Lana Porter, a Murray State alumnus who is a strong supporter of our faculty, staff, and students, and who sought to give back in the area of technology and with the Libraries.

Applications describing a nominee’s accomplishments in Open Access scholarship shall be submitted to the University’s Open Access Committee by Thursday October 7, 2021.  Recipients are chosen by the committee, with selection based on the criteria above.  Please return your completed document to AJ Boston, aboston@murraystate.edu.  Announcements will be made in late October 2021.  Recipients will receive a stipend of $500-$1000, depending on the endowment’s market performance.  Faculty and staff stipends will be dispersed from the “Lana Porter Open Access Fund” and will be a taxable benefit.  Awards for students shall be applied to their student accounts. The Libraries, the Office of Development and Marketing, Branding and Communication will publicize this recognition.  Names of awardees will be inscribed on a plaque in the University Libraries’ Dean’s Office Conference Room. (Download a copy of the application by clicking here.) 

The criteria by which applications for an Open Access Award will be evaluated are as follows:

• The open work was created during the same period of time in which the applicant was affiliated as a full-time faculty/staff member, or student, of Murray State University,

• The significance of the work to the research and professional development of the applicant,

• The ability to provide evidence of commitment to open access or open education,

• Applications and supporting documents must be completed in full.