Contest recognizes best student writing, research

University President Dean L. Hubbard and members of the B.D. Owens Library staff attended ceremonies Tuesday, April 1, held to congratulate the winners of this year’s Library Research Awards competition.

Established last year by Information Librarian Carolyn Johnson and other Owens staffers, the contest recognizes undergraduate writing and research across the Northwest curriculum.

In addition to recognizing excellence in undergraduate research, this year’s competition included an essay contest, which was won by Jennifer Backer, a senior biology/psychology major from DeSoto, who wrote about “Dina’s Search,” a short story from a Z.Z. Packer’s 2004 short story collection, “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere.”

First place in the research portion of the contest went to Andrea Jones, a senior English major from Creston, Iowa, whose paper, “The Fountainhead: A Look at Criticism,” was written for a course in literary criticism taught by Dr. Wayne Chandler.

The second-place paper, “Catholic Liturgical Music,” was written by Rachael Stephenson, a senior vocal music education major from Salina, Kan., for a course on music history and literature taught by Dr. Rebecca Dunnell.

Third place went to Jeff Swan, a senior public administration major from Gower, whose paper, “The Economic Future of Nodaway County,” was written for an economic development course taught by Dr. Brian Hesse.

To be eligible for consideration, students were required to submit papers produced during the 2007-'08 academic year. Judges were asked to examine entries for demonstrated critical thinking skills and appropriately cited sources, most of which (approximately 75 percent) were to be gleaned from Owens Library’s electronic and paper collections.

All papers were written for 200-level or higher for-credit courses and required an e-mail verification/recommendation from the instructor. Contest requirements called for papers between 8 and 20 pages long exclusive of bibliographies. The winning entries become part of a digital collection of Library Research Award papers.

Contest judges were Dr. Christine Benson, Department of Mathematics and Statistics; Dr. Michael Steiner, Department of History, Humanities, Philosophy and Political Science; Dr. Rahnl Wood, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance; and B.D. Owens Library staff members Frank Baudino, Carolyn Johnson and Connie Ury.

Each of the winners received a plaque, MP3 player and a Barnes & Noble gift certificate. Prizes were purchased using funds derived through the library's annual Brick and Click seminar for academic librarians.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone: 660.562.1704
Fax: 660.562.1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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