Jodi Stutz Award
in Poetry

The Jodi Stutz Award, funded by Dean Cyril Oberlander and the University Library, was established in memory of a past staff member. Jodi Lee Stutz, a dedicated English student, graduated from Humboldt State University with honors with her B.A. in English in 1984. During her time with us, she served as both Assistant Editor (1983) and Managing Editor (1984) while writing poetry of her own. The Jodi Stutz Award in poetry was created by the 1987 Toyon Staff in her honor after a tragic accident took her life. She was passionate about poetry and education but still managed to find ways to crack jokes with her peers. Jodi’s writings can still be read on campus in our library's Humboldt Room. Read more. 

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Jodi Lee Stutz 

 The Jodi Stutz Award, given to the best piece of poetry, was established in the memory of a past staff member and student at HSU.

​Jodi Lee Stutz graduated from HSU with honors with her B.A. in English in 1984. During her time with us, she served as both Assistant Editor (1983) and Managing Editor (1984) while writing fiction and prose on her own. The award was established in 1987 after her death earlier that summer due to a tragic accident. Her peers all tell of her passion for writing and education, but also of her humor and bold personality. She had a guiding hand in starting the Raymond Carver Short Story contest, supposedly going straight up to the author and asking him to be the first contributor.

Professor David Holper at College of the Redwoods remembers her fondly, “Jodi was bright, energetic, feisty, fun, and a people magnet.  She was not afraid in the least to speak her mind, and given what happened at John Deere with the copy machine, you can tell she didn’t care too much for social conventions.  She was determined to become a successful writer, and I am confident that had she lived, we would now be reading her work and admiring it.”

You can read another article about her here. Jodi's photo is included in a Toyon staff photo from 1984. 

Her works were passed on to our library and now reside in the Humboldt Room where they can still be accessed.

-Angela Compton, 2016-17 Toyon Managing Editor