Paul B. and Robert Dykstra Faculty Excellence Award

Supporting faculty excellence, the Paul B. and Robert Dykstra Faculty Excellence Award endowment typically supports one faculty award per academic year. The award is designed to support faculty research, creative and scholarly activity. It is intended to be awarded to a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who is either currently involved in a project or has proposed a research, creative or scholarly project. 

Robert Dykstra was named the 1998 University of Wisconsin-River Falls Distinguished Alumnus. A 1957 elementary education and guidance graduate, Robert earned both masters and doctorate degrees in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota. Robert’s prolific work, spanning three decades from the mid-60’s to the early 90’s includes research that continues to be recognized as among the most important ever conducted in his field. In 1967, Robert and colleague Guy Bond published the groundbreaking study, “The Cooperative Research Program in First Grade Reading Instruction,” commonly known as “The First Grade Studies.” This national investigation remains the largest and most thorough study ever completed of beginning reading. 

Robert was elected to the International Reading Association Hall of Fame in 1996 and was granted the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013. Along with assuming various leadership positions at the local, national, and international levels, Robert continues to remember his ties to UW-River Falls, where he served many years on its Foundation Board. 

Paul B. Dykstra is an independent board member and recent past Chairman, President and CEO of Viad, a $1.1B NYSE company with domestic and international operations in Marketing and Event Services, Travel and Recreation Services and formerly Payment Services.
  
Paul began his career with Viad (then known as the Greyhound Corporation) in 1984 when he joined Travelers Express Company, Inc., a subsidiary in the payment processing and money transfer business. In 2000, Paul was named president and chief executive officer of GES, another Viad subsidiary. Over the course of the next six years, he transformed the company by streamlining operations, focusing resources on developing new technology for the exhibition and events industry, and instilling a values-based winning culture. In 2006, Paul was appointed president and chief executive officer and elected to Viad’s board of directors. He was appointed chairman of the board in 2008. Paul oversaw the consolidation of businesses and growth through acquisition and international expansion. 

Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.  He has served on the UWRF Foundation Board since 2017 and previously from 1998-2003. 

Read the donor's story: Robert and Paul Dykstra

Application Process  

A Brief Overview of How to Proceed:
If you have any issues, please contact Academic Affairs. 

• Complete an application (click below) that includes a personal narrative.
• An up-to-date CV uploaded into the system.
• One support narrative from a colleague (UWRF preferred), who can address how you contributed significantly to research, creative, or scholarly activity at UWRF. You will identify this person in your application, and once the application is submitted, this person will receive an email asking to provide the narrative.
• Ensure that the application is complete.  You will receive a final email indicating that it has been sent to the committee.  This must be completed by the due date.
• Note: Department Chair needs to approve request, so ensure to submit within a reasonable time so your chair has time to approve application before the deadline.

Due Date

For 2024-25: April 15, 2024

Application