The Alison Bentley Kephart fund was established in December 1985 by Drs. Ronald and Marian Bentley, as a lasting memorial in remembrance of their daughter, Alison. It was the intent and purpose of this award to give an annual prize to a first-year undergraduate student who has demonstrated outstanding potential for a successful career in one of the biological sciences. It was the hope of both Ronald and Marian Bentley that such a memorial to Alison would prove useful to the Department of Biological Sciences, in which they were both faculty members, and provide a small stimulus to the attainment of excellence by a first-year student.
The award consists of a University Book Store gift certificate and a certificate of recognition. It is presented once a year at the beginning of the fall term during the Department of Biological Sciences kick-off meeting.
Previous winners of the Alison Bentley Kephart Award:
| Year | Alison Bentley Kephart Awardee(s) |
| 2024 |
Sarah Ali Shahd ElSayed Kenny Feng Neal Gupta Raymond Oji Alexandra Perazzo Kylie Ye |
| 2023 |
Arshiya Alwadi Jason Edwards Michael Oths Rosalie Van Deusen Zoey Zhang |
| 2022 |
Maryam Alanjawi Aaron Jackson Serea Slatas Isabella Will |
| 2021 |
Aneesh Kamath Elizabeth Rubin Anzu Sekikawa Muhammed Sillah Priyanka Srinivasan |
| 2020 |
Ashley Bang Joshua Heidenreich Maria Montoya Orozco Julia Wiegers |
| 2019 |
Sara Gaiser Bethany Hileman Vaishnavi Mahalingam Jeremy Saliba |
| 2018 |
Abigail Buckley Madelyn Czekalski Mary Morcos Hetvi Patel |
| 2017 |
Rafael Alexandre Jack Callahan Lindsey Maclay Wendi Li |
| 2016 | Kristen Richards |
| 2015 | Kerry Iles Katelyn Means Morgan Thompson |
| 2014 | Hayley Orndorff |
| 2013 | Tamara Cherwin |
| 2012 | Ronni McKown |
| 2011 | Ruth Geller |
| 2010 | Amy Trotnick |
| 2009 | Ann Nwokelo |
| 2008 | Carly Sedlock |
| 2007 | Elizabeth Oczypok |
| 2006 | Eric Gardner |
| 2005 | Nancy L. Czaicki |
| 2004 | Adam Frank |
| 2003 | Brittany DeVoge |
| 2002 | Sarah Papperman |
| 2001 | Rebecca Beerman |
| 2000 | Erin Imler |