One Kansas University educator – or maybe more – will receive a prestigious honor from the senior class and student leadership during the third quarter of today’s Kansas University football game.

The HOPE Award presentation features finalists Kerry Benson, journalism lecturer; Matthew Buechner, associate professor of molecular biosciences; Thomas Glavinich, associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering; David Holmes, professor of psychology; and Mary Klayder, university honors lecturer in English.

The award is an “Honor for an Outstanding Progressive Educator.” The senior class offered nominations by e-mail and voted to narrow the field to finalists. Representatives of the Board of Class Officers and its Senior Advisory Board make the selection after interviews.

Winners receive cash and recognition on a permanent plaque in the Kansas Union. Winners have tied before, including last year when Craig Martin, professor and chairman of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Edward McBride, lecturer in civil, environmental and architectural engineering, received the award.