Entries are now being accepted for the 7th annual Undergraduate Library Research Award (ULRA) competition sponsored by the Hesburgh Libraries and the Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE).
Established in 2010 to promote critical thinking, intellectual discovery, and the advancement of lifelong learning, the ULRA recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate excellent research skills by their broad use of library expertise, resources, collections, and services in their scholarly and creative projects.
Along with their projects, entrants must submit an essay (800-1,000 words) about the library resources consulted and integrated into their research or creative work. The essay should show a deep and significant understanding of the research process, outlining inquiry methods and highlighting specific, unique Hesburgh Libraries contributions.
Madelynn Green
Political science major Madelynn Green won first prize in 2015 for utilizing research skills throughout her senior thesis, “From Decay to Cool: Street Art and Urban Renewal in Kreuzberg, Berlin and the East End of London.” Her adviser was Ricardo Ramirez, associate professor of political science. Green wrote her thesis on street art, or images and text that are illegally painted on public and private property.
She gathered research during travels to both regions, and from Hesburgh Libraries resources, such as print sources, electronic journals, subject librarians, and research specialists. The 2014 Fall Senior Thesis Camp, she said, “was invaluable to my research process.” The 40-hour research and writing session in the Hesburgh Library “helped me organize my research into manageable chunks, streamline the academic language of my argument and successfully access and integrate information I found on shelves, in electronic journals, and from my interviews and observations.”
Emily Mediate
A 2015 honorable mention award was given to Emily Mediate, an Africana studies and Arts and Letters pre-health major and 2016 Rhodes Scholar. Advised by Terence McDonnell, Kellogg Assistant Professor of Sociology, Mediate’s work is titled, “Disabling Donor Demands: The Coercion of the International HIV/AIDS Agenda.”
Her work analyzes how international funding has constrained local efforts to address AIDS in Uganda. Mediate initiated her research while studying in the Notre Dame London program. From there, she consulted electronic resources, databases, articles, and e-books to explore her broad topic and also received assistance from a Notre Dame London Undergraduate Program librarian, Alice Tyrell.
Winners for 2016 will be awarded six cash prizes across three different levels:
Senior and Honors Theses
1st Place–$1,000
Honorable Mention–$500
20000–40000 Level
1st Place–$500
Honorable Mention–$250
10000 Level
1st Place–$500
Honorable Mention–$250
Winning projects and recorded 3- to 5-minute lightning talk videos will be preserved in CurateND, Notre Dame’s digital institutional repository. Winners will be recognized at the ULRA Awards Reception at the Undergraduate Scholars Conference on April 29.
Deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. April 13. For information, tips, and submissions, click here.
