April 26, 2006

LIS Celebration of Scholarship Becoming Tradition

Three years is not long enough for something to become a tradition, but the Libraries and Information Services annual Celebration of Scholarship is well on its way to becoming a tradition.

Nine student writers and 36 published faculty and staff were the focus on Friday in the Bayley Room of Beeghly Library. But, senior Melissa Yinger stole the show.

Yinger, an English and humanities-classics double major with a minor in music, was awarded the LIS Research Paper Award for her paper, "The Sidney Family Sonnet Sequences, From Humanism to Cultural Reflections and Revision." "I feel very honored to win this award," says Yinger. "The library staff has been very kind and encouraging, and I feel inspired to continue with my writing."

Yinger's paper is about the poet Lady Mary Wroth. "Wroth, a member of the famous Sidney family, was the first woman to write a sonnet sequence in English," Yinger says. "In my paper I compare her sequences, Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, to her uncle Philip Sidney's sequence, Astrophel and Stella, and explain what happens when the gender of the speaker becomes female."

Yinger's interest in English and humanities began at Marysville High School under the guidance of Patricia Biehl. It would continue at Ohio Wesleyan working with Patricia's husband – Dr. Jim Biehl, professor of English and humanities-classics. "I was privileged to take AP English with Mrs. Biehl, which eventually led me to taking classes with Dr. Biehl at Ohio Wesleyan," Yinger explains. "In these courses I became well acquainted with and interested in the Italian Renaissance, and I found studies in the English Renaissance to be a nice compromise between my English and humanities majors. Over the summer I did research, guided by Dr. [Patricia] DeMarco's expert advice, and settled on Lady Mary Wroth."

And it appears to have been the right choice.

In addition to Yinger, eight other students submitted papers for judging:

• Jennifer Howard, Senior, "Discoveries in the Study of Faith Development and Its Related Literature"
• Sahar Khan, Senior, "Nuke Prescriptions"
• Naomi Mountainspring, Senior, "The Roles of Women in the Old Testament"
• Jahnvi Purwar, Senior, "Projects on the Narmada River: A Country's Progress or Destruction"
• Cassie Screngi, Senior, "The Bittersweet Homecoming of the Vietnam Veterans and the Implications of Their Experiences"
• Anne Shadle, Senior, "A Holistic Model of Care in Nursing Homes"
• Erin Sonenstein, Senior, "Perfectionism and Disordered Eating, Internalization of Negative Aspects of Femininity: The Link Between Perfectionism and Disordered Eating"
• Carrianna Suiter, Senior, "British Agency in Africa"

Yinger received a $500 award from the Friends of the Library for winning the competition. The competition was judged by Paul Burnham, public services librarian; Tom Burns, associate professor of English and astronomy and director of the Perkins Observatory (http://connect2.owu.edu/ourtown/159.php); Ed Kahn, assistant professor of theatre and dance; Corinne Lyman, professor emeritus of politics and government and Friends of the Library representative; Kyle Smith, assistant professor of psychology; Theresa Byrd, chief information officer and head of libraries; Danielle Clarke, public service librarian and coordinator of information literacy; Ülle Lewes, director of the writing resource center and professor of English; Deb Peoples, science librarian; and Peter Szabo, music librarian.

In addition to the students, the event highlighted the 36 published Ohio Wesleyan faculty and staff during the past year. Each received a trinket, "within our budget," according to Byrd, that would signify the achievement – a special Ohio Wesleyan pen.

— Toby Boyce