Maura C. Burns is the winner of the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Upper-level category, which is awarded to the winning project completed in a 200- to 400-level course.
Maura is a senior History major with minors in Biology and Biochemistry from Jessup, Pennsylvania, who submitted to the competition her paper “Medicine in the American Revolution,” completed in the course HIST 490: Senior Seminar on the American Revolution, taught by Dr. David Dzurec. In her description of research she explains, “I learned that the University of Scranton website connects to a network of libraries and resources that helped me form the backbone of my paper.” Maura goes on to rightly note that “just like history, research is unpredictable,” and that “research is a learning experience in and of itself,” things she learned through conducting the research for this project.
The Weinberg Memorial Library inaugurated the prize in 2011 to recognize excellence in research projects that show evidence of significant knowledge of the methods of research and the information gathering process, and use of library resources, tools, and services. In 2017, the prize was named for Professor Emerita Bonnie W. Oldham, who founded the prize at the University in 2011.
Honorable Mention awards in the Undergraduate Upper-level category included Catherine McManus, a junior Biology major with a minor in Political Science, as well as group partners Luis Melgar, a senior Exercise Science major with minors in Spanish and Theology, and Julianne Burrill, a junior Exercise Science major.
Emily Dineen is the winner of the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Graduate category.
Emily is a graduate occupational therapy student from Bethel, Connecticut, who submitted to the competition her project “Historical Analysis,” completed in the course OT 501: Leadership in Occupational Therapy, taught by Dr. Marlene Joy Morgan. For this project Emily researched sensory integration intervention in pediatric occupational therapy, and of her research process she said, “I was able to literally see the progression of the sensory integration approach and of the profession itself,” calling it a “historical immersive experience.”
New in 2018, the Library has created a third category to recognize research excellence and learning in the first year. Nicole Cavanaugh is the winner of the 2018 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Foundational category, which is awarded to the winning project completed in a 100-level course.
Nicole is a first-year Accounting major from Dallas, Pennsylvania, who submitted to the competition her paper “There’s No Gain in the Globalization Game,” completed in Prof. Dawn D’Aries Zera’s WRTG 107: Composition course. To complete her research, Nicole took advantage of the Library’s Research Services, made available to students at the Research Services desk on the second floor of the Library. It was there that she learned of the vast amount of information available through the Library. As she puts it in her description of research, “A few clicks from the university homepage and I was connected to thousands of media sources, books, magazines, articles, journals, and more.”
Honorable Mention awards in the Undergraduate Foundational category included group partners James P. McKane Jr., a first-year History major, and Alana Siock, a first-year French major, as well as Sydney Vanvourellis, a first-year Physiology major.
Prize winners were honored at a reception on Thursday, May 10, 2018 in the Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library.
Information about the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize can be found on the website: http://www.scranton.edu/libraryresearchprize
Congratulations to all of our honorees!
Please consider giving to the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize Endowment Fund, ensuring that the prize will be awarded in perpetuity. Make your gift directly to the fund here.