The 2026 Environmental Art Show: Nature Reimagined is now open!
Stop by or view our online submissions!
The exhibit can be viewed from April 13-22, 2026 in the Charles Kratz Heritage Room, 5th Floor of the Weinberg Memorial Library. Open to the public during Library operational hours.
Environmental Art promotes the natural beauty of our environment and the ideal practice of sustainable living through artworks of all types, including painting, photography, repurposed goods, sculpture, video and more.
Thank you to all of the artists who submitted artwork this year!
An Artist Talk and closing reception for the Environmental Art Show will be on April 21 at 5pm. We hope to see you there!
Last call to submit art for the Environmental Art Show!
Physical artwork drop off will be from April 7-10, 2026. Artwork can be dropped off at the Library Services Desk during Library Operational Hours. Participants dropping off artwork will need to provide a release form with their artwork. Release forms will be available at the Library Services Desk on the first floor of the Library. All artwork is returned after the art show ends.
The 2026 Environmental Art Show will be held from April 13-22, 2026 in the Charles Kratz Heritage Room, 5th Floor, Weinberg Memorial Library. The virtual exhibit held in conjunction with the exhibit will go live on April 13th.
If you would like to submit but have questions or need assistance with your submission, please contact Marleen Cloutier at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu.
Are you working on a research project in a course this semester? Did you use the Library’s resources, services, collections, or spaces in order to complete your research? Then the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize is for you!
Update for 2025-2026: Starting this year, there will be one submission deadline for the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize for all projects completed this academic year. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the deadline has passed.
Monday, May 11, 2026 is the deadline for all projects completed in the Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Intersession 2026, and Spring 2026 academic terms. The application form, found at the contest website, is now open and accepting submissions.
The Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize recognizes excellence in research projects that show evidence of significant knowledge in the methods of research and the information gathering process and use of library resources, tools, and services.
Three prizes of $500.00 each will be awarded to the winning individual student or group in the following categories: Undergraduate Foundational (100-level courses), Undergraduate Upper-level (200- to 400-level courses), and Graduate. If won by a group, the award will be split equally among the group members.
All you need to do is write a 500- to 700-word essay describing the research strategies you used, your use of library tools and resources, your personal learning, and connections you’ve made to the Ignatian characteristics applied to research. Check out the judging rubric and our Tips web page for advice on how to craft the best 500- to 700-word essay you can about your research.
A statement of faculty support from the instructor who assigned the research project, submitted through the faculty support form at the contest website, is also required for each submission.
Winners will be announced in May after the deadline.
For additional information on how to apply, what to include in a completed application, and to access the application, visit the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize page: www.scranton.edu/libraryresearchprize
What does it mean to return — to the earth, to ourselves, to what is sacred in the ordinary?
In conjunction with the closing of the Environmental Art Show, please join us for Waymarks Toward Reunion: Making Beauty As a Return to the Earth an Artist Talk with Patrick Beldio, MFA, Ph.D. and Waymarks Fellow Gabriella Palmer, 26′ on April 21 at 5pm in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.
This talk brings together a sculptor and a playwright at a shared creative threshold. Patrick Beldio, Artist-in-Residence at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land and Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Scranton, introduces his grant-funded program Waymarks Toward Reunion and reflects on his own creative and spiritual practices, and how these inform and are informed by his scholarship and teaching in the classroom. Gabriella Palmer, Scranton student and Waymarks Fellow, shares her latest original play: a retelling of the Prodigal Son as family drama with magical realism, that also examines the theme of reunion with nature. Beldio and Palmer will discuss what making art asks of both artist and audience, what the word reunion means in a week devoted to the earth, and how they each entered the creative threshold from different doors. The talk concludes with a Q&A.
Patrick Beldio, MFA, PhD, is a scholar and teacher of comparative theology with specializations in Hinduism, Sufism, and Christian spirituality. He teaches in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at the University of Scranton, serves as a Research Fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, and is a Core Team member of Philosophy in the Arts : Arts in Philosophy—a cross-cultural research initiative on the role of the heart in artistic research and performance philosophy, funded by the Austrian Science Fund.
His current book, The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Co-Creator of the Integral Yoga (Bloomsbury, 2025), explores the transformative legacy of Mirra Alfassa (1878–1973), a French Jewish woman who became an Indian guru with a global following.
In addition to his academic work, Beldio is a professional sacred sculptor with a studio at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, DC. His artwork is held in private and public collections across the United States, Europe, and India. You can view his work at https://www.reunionstudios.com
Gabriella Palmer, 26′ is a senior triple major in English, Theatre, and Philosophy with a Legal Studies concentration at The University of Scranton. She is originally from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Her first full-length play, “The Justice Plays Its Part”, was developed as part of a fellowship with the University’s Slattery Center for the Humanities and was performed by the University of Scranton Players in spring 2025. She has presented research at the 2024–2025 Lycoming College Humanities Research Conference. Her ten-minute play, “To the Tune of Chaos”, was read at the 2025 Sigma Tau Delta Convention, and her short story, “The Inheritance of Vivienne Dupree” was featured at the 2026 conference.
She also co-wrote “The 1902 Project”, a research-based play about the 1902 Coal Strike, which was read by the University of Scranton Players in 2023. Most recently, her ten-minute play “An Empty Glass and Other Metaphors for Darkness” was published in Esprit, The University of Scranton’s literary magazine. In addition to being the Waymarks Student Fellow, Gabriella has completed fellowships with the Slattery Center for the Humanities and Scranton’s Office of Community-Based Learning, where she helped compile and explain legal resources available to local colleges and organizations in the Scranton area. She will be attending law school in the fall.
This event is free and open to the public, light refreshments will be available. We hope you can join us!
The 2026 Environmental Art Show runs from April 13th to April 22th in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room and is open to the public during library operational hours.
If you have any questions regarding this event please reach out to Marleen Cloutier via email at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu
Want to learn how you can utilize the IDEA Center to create art you can submit to the Environmental Art Show?
Join Tom Bryan, Director of the IDEA Center, and Marleen Cloutier, coordinator of the Environmental Art Show for the Weinberg Memorial Library, for an informational session on Environmental Art, working on art projects at The IDEA Center, and how you can submit art to the Environmental Art Show. Light refreshment will be provided.
For more information about the Environmental Art Show see our Call for Art on the WML blog
If you have questions or need assistance with your registration for this event or submitting art for the Environmental Art Show, please contact Marleen Cloutier at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu.
The Weinberg Memorial Library is seeking submissions for our annual exhibit of Environmental Art.
The Environmental Art Show theme for 2026 is Nature Reimagined.
The 2026 Environmental Art Show will be held from April 13-22, 2026 in the Charles Kratz Heritage Room, 5th Floor, Weinberg Memorial Library. The virtual exhibit held in conjunction with the exhibit will go live on April 13th.
Environmental Art promotes the natural beauty of our environment and the ideal practice of sustainable living through artworks of all types, including painting, photography, repurposed goods, sculpture, video and more. Artists are encouraged to consider their engagement with nature or a sustainable practice and develop artwork around this year’s theme.Submissions are open to all and we encourage submissions by University of Scranton students, staff, faculty, and alumni.
Deadline for digital submissions will be April 2, 2026.
Physical artwork drop off will be from April 7-10, 2026. Artwork can be dropped off at the Library Services Desk during Library Operational Hours. Participants dropping off artwork will need to provide a release form with their artwork. Release forms can be downloaded through the digital application form and hard copies of blank forms will be available at the Library Services Desk on the first floor of the Library. All artwork is returned after the art show ends.
If you would like to submit but have questions or need assistance with your submission, please contact Marleen Cloutier at marleen.cloutier@scranton.edu.
The Weinberg Memorial Library is pleased to welcome the Class of 2029 to The University of Scranton!
Sign up for the Heritage Hunt, an interactive introduction to the Library and its resources for first-year students!
Watch our welcome video to learn more about the Weinberg Memorial Library.
You can consult with a University of Scranton Librarian during our service hours by asking for research assistance at the first floor Library Services Desk, by calling 570-941-4000, or by using theAsk a Librarian chat boxes on our website which are available 24/7.
The Library’s Research & Scholarly Services department, located on the second floor, can assist you with research, such as finding, evaluating, and citing information. Look for the purple “Research Librarian on call” signs to locate a librarian available for drop-in research assistance. Research consultations can be scheduled by using the Ask a Librarianchat box or by contacting yoursubject liaison librariandirectly by email.
To find resources, such as books, journals, and media, use Royal Search on the Library’s home page. The Library’s large collection of eBooks, electronic journals, and streaming media is available 24/7. To access the Library’s online content, you must first authenticate through my.scranton.edu.
The staff at the Library Services Desk on the first floor can help you borrow and return print materials and laptops. You can also pick up items on reserve, books placed on hold, and interlibrary loan materials. In the lobby area in front of the Library Services Desk you will find New Books recently added to our collection, our Recreational Reading Collection which offers a variety of new and popular fiction and nonfiction, our new Graphic Novels collection, and our Featured Media Collection that contains recently acquired and popular DVDs.
The Weinberg Memorial Library has five floors and offers a variety of spaces to support your study and research needs including computer workstations, individual study space, group study rooms, quiet study areas, and the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room.
The Reilly Learning Commons (RLC), located on the first floor, is a collaborative space with access to computers, video and audio recording rooms, and reservablegroup study rooms equipped with whiteboards and monitors.
The Media Resources Collection on the third floor includes media items in a variety of formats which are available for borrowing. The EdLab Collection, located within the Media Resources space, consists of children’s literature, K-12 textbooks, and materials useful for student teaching. Media Resources is currently undergoing renovations. The space is open as a study space and the EdLab Collection is accessible, however the media typically held in this space is currently not available. The Media Resources Collection will be back in a newly renovated space by Spring 2026. In the interim, check out our Featured Media Collection on the first floor or our streaming media collections online.
2025 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize Undergraduate Upper-level award recipient Miriam M. Van de Water.
Miriam M. Van de Water is the winner of the 2025 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.
Miriam is a graduating senior Mathematical Sciences and Neuroscience double major with a minor in Philosophy and a concentration in Biology. She submitted to the competition her Honors thesis titled “Examining the Outcomes of Collective Decision Making Over Time,” completed in the course MATH 489H: Honors Project II, advised by Dr. Jason Graham. Miriam explains in her description of research that her Honors research topic, which was “to explore how collective decision-making and sociality influence population fitness,” led her to “discover the importance of breaking large research questions into manageable pieces—whether determining which parameter to test, learning to build simulations, or choosing the best way to visualize complex results.”
Miriam describes the Library as playing a central role in her research journey. She discusses using the Library’s resources, spaces, and services to structure and support her work; she says, “Being immersed in that space helped structure my thinking and reinforce the seriousness and excitement of the work I was doing.” She describes working on the Library’s second floor while preparing a literature review and using the Library’s computer labs to build simulations and write early drafts of her research paper. She also recounts a research consultation with a faculty librarian that revealed overlooked areas in her honors project, stating: “her input reminded me that research is ultimately about communication, and that excellence isn’t just technical—it’s also about clarity, accessibility, and collaboration.”
Miriam’s research journey is also characterized by reflection and personal transformation. She discusses living out the Ignatian principle of Contemplation in Action which helped nurture her character and clarify her professional goals. Miriam explains: “My work was rooted in long, quiet hours of focused thought, literature review, and coding—but it was always oriented toward application. I wasn’t just thinking for the sake of thinking; I was using those insights to build something, to contribute to a broader scientific conversation.”
She concludes her description of research by sharing the following reflection about her work on this project: “This project did more than fulfill a graduation requirement. It taught me how to break down big questions into manageable pieces, how to reach out for help, and how to sit with uncertainty until clarity emerged. It showed me that research is not only about discovery but also about formation—about becoming a person capable of asking better questions, communicating ideas thoughtfully, and navigating complexity with humility and care.” She further reports that her work on this project has helped develop her confidence as a researcher as she prepares to begin her PhD in Biomathematics at North Carolina State University in the Fall.
The Honorable Mention award in the Undergraduate Upper-level category was presented to Faith Montagnino, a third-year English major with Writing and Philosophy minors in the SJLA and University Honors programs, for her project titled “Reading and Writing to Heal: Poetry Therapy as a Tool for Person-Centered Group Therapy,” completed in the course HONR 385H: Poetry as Therapy for Dr. Paul Datti.
Kiera Mooney and Jessica Tsu are the winners of the 2025 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Graduate category.
From left to right: 2025 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize Graduate award co-recipients Kiera Mooney and Jessica Tsu.
Kiera and Jessica, graduate students in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program, submitted to the competition their project titled “The Role of Gender Throughout the History of Occupational Therapy,” completed in the course OT 544: Leadership Principles, Ethics, and Pragmatics, taught by Dr. Marlene Morgan. This historiographical research project explores the role of gender makeup on the occupational therapy workforce over the past century and incorporates evidence from primary sources from the 1910s to present day.
Kiera and Jessica found this evidence by searching a multitude of Library databases including SAGE Journals, PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCO, JSTOR, and JAMA Network, as well as the Internet Archive and the Library’s microfilm collection. On the latter, they noted in their description of research, “Looking at the microfilm took an unexpected amount of patience, but it became an immersive experience for us to participate in that further expanded our education.” They also utilized the advanced research technique of citation chasing, which taught them that research “will not always be as simple as typing in one keyword and finding the perfect article.”
Initially looking for why there were more women than men in the field, the research process evolved for Kiera and Jessica as they found other gender inequities towards women, such as wage gaps, discrimination, and gender stereotypes. They discovered these other dimensions of their topic through the research process, which required that they reassess and change their approach to searching, which “steered [them] in an unexpected direction.” They found this process and discovery enlightening as they confronted the struggles of working women throughout time.
Kiera and Jessica were pushed by this project to become better researchers and embodied the Jesuit principle of magis, or the “restless desire for excellence.” Realizing they were the first students to choose this topic for their research in this course, they knew they had their work cut out for them. They share, “The hours that we spent scouring databases, citation chasing, using microfilm, and digging through archives exhibit our determination and perseverance in creating a detailed paper that accurately showed the whole story of this topic throughout history.”
The Honorable Mention award in the Graduate category was presented to Doctor of Physical Therapy students Nicolette George, Mary Kallberg, Julia LeMay, and Stephanie Patullo, for the project, “Physical Therapy versus Complementary and Alternative Medicine Effects on Post-Episiotomy Pain: A Systematic Review,” completed in PT 773: Scientific Inquiry III for PT for Dr. Lori Walton.
2025 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize Undergraduate Foundational award recipient Myira Vilchis Bruno.
Myira Vilchis Bruno is the winner of the 2025 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize in the Undergraduate Foundational category, which is awarded to the winning project completed in a 100-level course.
Myira is a first-year Political Science major with a Legal Studies concentration who submitted her paper titled “Directly American,” completed in Prof. Dawn D’Aries Zera’s Writing 107: Composition course. Tasked with researching an argumentative contemporary issue related to her major, Myira chose to research and write on how direct democracies are more beneficial than representative democracies. On her motivation for researching this topic, Myira notes in her description of research, “I am always finding new ways to expand my knowledge of our current democracy and how it alters the law.”
Myira began her research in an information literacy class taught by a faculty librarian where she learned how to search for materials in a variety of formats that contained evidence she could use to support her argument. In the A-Z list of databases, Myira found the EBSCO database Academic Search Premier, which became one of her most utilized databases for finding useful and relevant sources. She describes using the search filters to narrow her results to peer-reviewed academic journal articles published between 2018 and 2025. Myira also notes the usefulness of the article saving feature in the EBSCO platform, which allowed her to save articles to refer to later while continuing on with her research process. She describes how using different keywords related to her topic enabled her to extend her research beyond analyses of the United States to such countries as Germany, Britain, and Botswana.
Myira also shares that learning about the Library’s Publication Finder tool in her information literacy instruction session prompted her to use it to locate specific journals related to the field of Political Science, such as the Journal of Regional Science and the American Political Science Review, which helped her focus her research more directly on scholarly work related to her essay topic. This tool also enabled her to easily explore streaming media related to her topic that was accessible through the Library, which was a format requirement for one of her sources for this paper.
In reference to her research project, Myira states: “Before sufficiently navigating the library databases, I would spend more time finding sources than writing. This caused me to doubt my writing because I thought it was inaccurate. I grew unmotivated to write, and I no longer enjoyed it like I did before. However, I kept in mind the Ignatian value of Cura Personalis or ‘Care for the Person.’ I was still passionate about making sure I had full support on my side of the argument.” She further notes, “Research on democracies across the globe was a special interest of mine because I hope to practice international law in the future. To advance my future, I had to focus on the present.”
The Honorable Mention award in the Undergraduate Foundational category was presented to first-year Psychology major Erin Augusiewicz, for the project, “Psychedelic Treatment?” completed in WRTG 106: College Writing II for Prof. Dawn D’Aries Zera.
Currently celebrating its 15th year, the Weinberg Memorial Library inaugurated the Library Research 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. The Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize was fully endowed in 2019 and consists of a prize of $500 awarded to winning projects in each of the three categories: Undergraduate Foundational (100-level projects), Undergraduate Upper-level (200- to 400-level projects), and Graduate.
Prize winners were honored at an Awards Ceremony & Reception on Friday, May 16, 2025 in the Charles Kratz Scranton Heritage Room of the Weinberg Memorial Library.
2025 Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize Award and Honorable Mention Recipients. From left to right: Erin Augusiewicz, Miriam M. Van De Water, Myira Vilchis Bruno, Kiera Mooney, Jessica Tsu, and Faith Montagnino; Not Pictured: Nicolette George, Mary Kallberg, Julia LeMay, and Stephanie Patullo.
Join us on the roof of the Library on Tuesday, May 6 at 5pm for a relaxing beginner pilates class to work out some stress before studying for finals! Bring your mat and some water! If weather is bad, we will be inside the Heritage Room on the 5th floor.
Pilates and Yoga instructor Gretchen Welby will talk about the benefits of pilates and exercise on stress and wellbeing and lead us through a beginner pilates class. In addition to teaching yoga and pilates, Gretchen teaches anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and pathophysiology to college and graduate students. She deeply understands the connection between mind and body.
This event is free for University of Scranton students and employees.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Weinberg Memorial Library.
Environmental Art promotes the natural beauty of our environment and the ideal practice of sustainable living through artworks of all types, including painting, photography, repurposed goods, sculpture, video and more.
