Frank Communications Center

Read the winning essays from 2012!

View information about past essay contests.

Mary Thomas Prappas Ethics Essay Contest

2013 Contest

Undergraduate students in the Tippie College are encouraged to enter the Mary Thomas Prappas Business Ethics Essay Competition, funded through a generous contribution from business alumna Mary Thomas Prappas. While contest entry is a requirement for students in the Business Communication and Protocol (BCaP) course, all Tippie undergraduate business students are eligible to participate. Essays are based on a scenario that includes an ethical situation to reflect upon. The contest kicks off every November with the fall semester BCaP students writing the essay to conclude the ethics unit in the curriculum.

Thanks to the generosity of Mary and Dempsey Prappas, monetary awards will be given to the top-ranked essays. First-, second-, and third-place winners will receive $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000, respectively. Finalists for the 2013 contest will be determined at the end of the 2013 spring semester.

2012 Contest

From nearly 800 entrants, 10 finalists were selected in May: Stephanie Anson, Tyler Boring, Amanda Finucan, Jennie Frake, Kaitlin Greif, Kathryn Grimmer, Nicole Haddad, Austin Henecke, Xiaoling Liang, Jeffrey Pomykala, and Anthony Russo. Congratulations to these Tippie students for their outstanding essays.

After having the summer to revise their essays, finalists have submitted their essays for the last round of judging. Prominent members of the business community in Iowa read and evaluated the finalists' essays and determined the top three winners. The first-place winner was Kathryn Grimmer, a junior pursuing an accounting major. The second-place winner was Nicole Haddad, a junior engaged in a pre-law program with an economics (policy) major. The third-place winner was Jeffrey Pomykala, a senior completing a finance major. The winners were recognized at the All-College Meeting early in the spring semester.

Questions regarding the contest should be emailed to Frank Center director Pamela Bourjaily (pamela-bourjaily@uiowa.edu).