The Spectrum Awards or "The Gnomees", named for The Center's oldest resident "Spectrum," celebrate the accomplishments of queer students and those that support the success of queer students at Iowa State University.

About the Gnomees

This year's Spectrum Awards will be held on April 10th, from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. 

Nominations are due by February 21st, at 12:00 pm

Please have all the necessary materials submitted to the awards committees at that time.

Queer of the Year

The most prestigious award of the night: This award is for a person that has acted as a voice for the queer community in their personal, professional, and daily life. A recipient of this award should be someone that we look to when things seem difficult.

Center Alum of the Year

This award is given to an Iowa State Alum that spent time at the Center (or equivalent) and still supports LGBTQIA+ people in their every day lives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Queer of the year: All Iowa State Students, Faculty, and Staff

Student Awards: All currently enrolled Iowa State Students

Faculty & Staff Awards: All Faculty and Staff currently employed at Iowa State University

Student Organization Awards: All Student Organizations currently registered with the Office of Student Engagement

Yes you can. You just might not be surprised when you receive your nomination letter.

If you are nominated your nomination will be reviewed by one of the awards committees to determine the recipient of the award. All nominees will receive their nomination letter.

Some, if not all, nominees will be invited to attend the awards ceremony with a plus one.

The nomination you send in will be collected to be reviewed by the awards review committee to determine the award recipient.

Once all nominations have been received: some, if not all, nominees will be invited to attend the ceremony and will receive the letter that you wrote. Please indicate on the form if you would like to remain anonymous.

Anyone at Iowa State that feels they know someone that deserves to be nominated for a Gnomee can submit a nomination!

Nominations will be sent to one of our external award selection committees for scoring based on the provided criteria. Once nominations have been scored the highest scored nomination in each category will be considered the winner.

We will use certain "bonuses" such as: involvement in Center events, involvement in LGBTQIA+ centered student-led events on campus, and any other factors deemed relevant to the specific award; to break any ties.

The Spectrum Awards for LGBTQIA+ Student Success is named for the Center's longest resident "Spectrum". Spectrum is designed to look similar to Elwood in the Reiman Gardens, but unlike Elwood, Spectrum is the nonbinary Gnome that watches over Center visitors.

Painted in the 1990's, Spectrum has seen more of the Center's history than any staff member that has worked here. Spectrum is a staple of the Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success and deserves to be honored alongside the students being awarded at the Gnomees.