Library Communications

Four 2010 Undergraduate Research Award Winners Announced

March 11, 2010

Four University of Oregon students have been named winners of the 2010 Undergraduate Research Awards sponsored by the UO Libraries. The annual competitive program honors UO students who produced outstanding original research and scholarship in the previous calendar year using resources available through the UO Libraries. Each award carries a $1,000 scholarship.

To be eligible for the award, students are required to submit a research paper or project completed as part of their coursework at the UO, along with a recommendation from a UO faculty member. Each research project makes extensive, creative use of UO library services, resources, and collections. The awards are made possible by endowments established through the generous support of Milton C. and Barbara B. Sparks and Jon and Lisa Stine, as well as gifts from Walter and Gretchen Barger.

This year's award recipients will be honored for their achievements at an awards event this spring, and electronic copies of their papers will be deposited in Scholars' Bank, the university's open access archive for University of Oregon research, publications, and supporting materials in digital form.

Kristen Donheffner
"The 1903-1904 Typhoid Fever Epidemic in Butler, Pennsylvania”
Faculty Sponsor: James Mohr, History
Course: History 407: Medicine and Public Health in the United States 1870-1930

“I was amazed at how much medical history information I could get from old State Congressional records held in Knight Library. For example, each State’s Health Department gave annual reports. Documents librarian Tom Stave also suggested specific search terms within the WorldCat library system, which led me to important articles both in Knight Library, and in other libraries around the country, which I requested through the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) system.”

Riley Peck peck

“Veto the Slave Bill: The Struggle Against Senate Bill 677 and the Formation of a Pro-Farm Worker Coalition in Oregon”
Faculty Sponsor: Glenn May, History
Course: History 407: Oregon History

“Knight Library’s collection of Oregon newspapers was critical to my project: I reviewed the state’s major daily papers, a number of alternative papers, and several non-daily papers from agricultural areas.”

Karen Schwindt
“The Obligation for Patriotism: Why Congress Passed the Tonken Gulf Resolution”
Faculty Sponsor: Jane Cramer, Political Science
Course: Political Science 479: U.S. Interventions in Developing Nations

“Friends would ask me how I could spend so much time at the library, and I would always answer, ‘Because it’s addicting’. The more I read, the more useful information I found. I utilized countless books, online articles, and journals through Knight Library.”

Rachel Vora vora

“The History of the Recreation Residence Program on the Deschutes National Forest”
Faculty Sponsor: Kevin Hatfield, History
Course: History 407 Seminar: Pacific Northwest

“As a UO student in Bend, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to travel to Eugene to perform research in person at the Knight Library. I was able to examine a number of relevant documents there, it was rewarding to go there after so much distance research.”

All entries were judged by the Undergraduate Research Award Review Committee, which this year included Andrew Bonamici (chair), Associate University Librarian, Instructional Services, UO Libraries; Barbara Jenkins, Director, Instructional Services and Campus Partnerships, UO Libraries; Alisa Freedman, Assistant Professor, East Asian Languages and Literature; Marilyn Linton, Associate Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Studies; and Michelle Holdway, Convener, Student Financial Aid and Scholarships.

For more information on the Undergraduate Research Awards, visit http://libweb.uoregon.edu/general/libaward.html.

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