Celebration of Scholarship
In what is one of the busiest months of a college year, Ohio Wesleyan Libraries hosted the Celebration of Scholarship on April 13. Students, professors, and staff members gathered in the Bayley Room of Beeghly Library to honor the intellectual scholarship of graduating seniors, academic publications of the faculty, and general work of the library staff.
There were three items on the agenda for this noon hour celebration: the awarding of a $500 check to the senior whose paper was considered to be the best entry, showing a high level of research and skill in an area of study; the unveiling of the new Read Posters that will hang above the circulation desk in the library for the next academic year; and the recognition of faculty members who have been academically published during the last academic year.
Graduating seniors were invited to submit their favorite papers written during the past four years, to be reviewed and entered into the competition for the $500 prize from the libraries. This year’s winner was Celia Baker ’12 for her paper on “Breaking the Ice: Ronald Reagan, Star Wars, and the End of the Cold War.”
Director of Libraries, Catherine Cardwell, called Baker’s paper “riveting,” mentioning one of the judges who said how proud she was that an OWU graduate produced that standard of work.
She also congratulated all 11 seniors for entering the competition, saying that “it takes courage to enter into the world of academic publications.”
The other seniors who entered papers for the Celebration of Scholarship were:
Morgan Canup, Transatlantic Book Trade: The Extension of Knowledge Hao Do, Quantifying the Influence of Financial Risk Perception on the Measure of Financial Risk Tolerance Abigail Dockter, The “Natural” History of Southwest Fire Christina Fesz, Rust Life Cycles and Phylogeny with Emphasis on the Genus Tranzschelia and T. arthurii in Delaware County, Ohio Sharif Ismail Kronemer, The Death of Personhood and the Rise of the Expressed-Self: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Self and Death Kate Marchal, The Science and Experience behind Pyelonephritis DeLaine Mayer, Killing in the Name of Democracy: Post-Election Violence in Kenya in 2007 and 2008 Marina Metzler, Amongst Globalization: Children of Tijuana Christina Trusty, Targeting Obesity through Manipulation of Natural Gut Flora Abigail Walsh, An Examination of Exercise Programming in Crohn’s Disease: A Salutogenic Approach
Dedicated faculty members and librarians spent their time reading these papers with care and then meeting to discuss their opinions and to find a common winner. The judging professors were: Nancy Gamso (music), Susan Gunasti (religion), David Markwardt (zoology), James Stull (Writing Resource Center), and Alper Yalcinkaya (sociology/anthropology). Librarians Joy Gao, Jillian Maruskin, Deborah Peoples, Peter Szabo, and Catherine Cardwell (ex officio) also were part of the team of judges.
There are three available spots for the coveted Read Posters above the circulation desk seen as one enters the library. Caldwell announced who next would be photographed for posters that will hang in those areas for the next academic year. Those professors recognized were Bart Martin (geology/geography), Joan McLean (politics and government), and Juan Rojas (modern foreign languages).
In all, 35 students and faculty members were recognized for their publications, providing good examples for students and setting the bar even higher for next year’s Celebration of Scholarship!