Now in its eleventh year, the Undergraduate Library Research Award recognizes and rewards LMU undergraduate students whose research makes expert and creative use of the services, resources, and collections of the William H. Hannon Library to produce a scholarly or creative work. Each entry includes the research project or paper, an essay explaining how the student conducted their researched and used library resources, a bibliography, and a letter of nomination from the faculty member who had assigned the paper or project.
For 2017, the grand prize of $1,000 was awarded to Clare Sitzer, for her work entitled “Dance Education as Art and a Lever of Social Change.” Sitzer was nominated by Kristen Smiarowski. The Awards Committee was impressed by Sitzer’s diverse bibliography, thoughtful integration of a variety of sources, powerful letter of recommendation, and a reflective essay that clearly demonstrated the learning process through her research journey. Sitzer is a senior Dance major who produced this work for DANC 282.
The two honorable mentions of $450 each went to Tara Edwards and Rachel Marlies Napierkowski. Edwards was nominated by Diane Meyer for her work, “Dividing Los Angeles.” Edwards’s deep bibliography containing a variety of sources, her excellent faculty letter, and her sophisticated understanding of the time, place, and context of the her primary sources helped to create a beautifully executed and moving project. Tara is a junior Studio Arts – Photography major who produced this work for the Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
Our other honorable mention, Rachel Marlies Napierkowski, was nominated by Timothy Burns for her work, “Reading Between the Lines: On Empathy and Fiction.” Rachel’s compelling paper made a challenging philosophical argument approachable. Both the paper and her reflective essay demonstrated a sophisticated understanding and appreciation for the necessity of critical evaluation of source material, both supporting and in opposition to the thesis. Rachel is a senior Animation major who produced this work for PHIL 4700.
Congratulations to our 2017 winners!
The Awards Committee – Nataly Blas, Rachel Deras, Jamie Hazlitt, Laura Massa, and Elizabeth Wimberly – chose these entries because they demonstrate advanced information literacy practices, creative use of library collections and services, and clear evidence of significant learning. These works will be available in our Digital Commons. Dean Kristine Brancolini presented the awards at a special ceremony and reception on Friday, April 28, 2017 in the Von der Ahe Family Suite of the William H. Hannon Library.
The Undergraduate Library Research Award is generously supported by Thomas Peter Campora (LMU Class of ’66).
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