Awards & Achievements for 2008

Distinguished Master's Thesis Awards Click here for more information...
The Graduate School and the Council on Graduate Studies proudly announce the following master's thesis awards.
Joanne Crawford , master of science in biological sciences, was selected to receive the 2008 Eastern Illinois University Distinguished Thesis Award for her master's thesis titled: Mating, Kinship, and Population Structure in Illinois Beaver Populations. Ms. Crawford's faculty mentor was Dr. Thomas Nelson, Professor of Biological Sciences.
Shauna Cromwell , master of arts in English, was selected to receive the 2008 Thesis Award of Excellence for her master's thesis titled: The Interdialect Approach to Second Dialect Acquisition: Theory, Process, and Results . Ms. Cromwell's faculty mentor was Dr. Timothy Shonk, Associate Professor of English.
Cassie Flack , master of science in communication disorders and sciences, was selected to receive an Award of Honorable mention for her thesis titled: Word Retrieval Treatment using Collaborative Referencing . Ms. Flacks's faculty mentor was Dr. Brenda Wilson, Associate Professor of Communications and Disorders and Sciences.

Betty Wright Downing Scholar Click here for more information...
Jessica Matthews , masters candidate in counseling and student develpnment was awarded the 2008 Betty Wright Downing Scholarship.

Frances Meyer Hampton Scholar Click here for more information...
Jodi Dyke , masters candidate in communication disorders and sciences, is the 2008 Frances Meyer Hampton Scholar.

Mary Bear McClay Scholar
Karla Waymoth , masters candidate in mathematics, is the 2008 Mary Bear McClay Scholar.

Williams Travel Award Winners Click here for more information...
Nineteen graduate candidates were selected by the Council on Graduate Studies Awards Committee to receive the Larry Williams Travel Award during the Fall 2007 semester and 21 graduate candidates were selected to receive the award in Spring 2008.
The Fall 2007 Williams travel scholars include:
William Beatty , Biological Sciences, presented A Genetic Assessment of the Red Squirrel in Illinois: Natives, Immigrants or Exotics? at the 68th Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference at Madison, Wisconsin.
Jennifer Blitsch , Communication Disorders and Sciences, presented Narratives in ASD: Impact of Condition and Type of Support at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
Cassie Flack , Communication Disorders and Sciences, presented Word Retrieval Treatment using Collaborative Referencing , at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jeff Fore , Biological Sciences, presented Relationship Among Geomorphology and Fish Assemblages in Eastern Illinois Streams at the 68th Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference at Madison, Wisconsin.
Lee Gross, Biological Sciences, presented A Pond-Breeding Amphibian Community after Fish Removal: A Six Year Study and Compositional Changes in a Pond-Breeding Amphibian Community After Fish Removal at the 68th Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference at Madison, Wisconsin.
Corinna Hanson, Biological Sciences, presented Red Squirrel Distribution and Habitat Use in Illinois at the 68th Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference at Madison, Wisconsin.
Vincent Hustad, Biological Sciences, presented Terrestrial Macrofungal Species Composition and Richness in Old Growth Prairie Groves at the Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of America in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Mariss Jernegan, Biological Sciences, presented Soil Characteristics and Microbes Influencing Establishment of Prairie Species at the Botanical Society of America at Chicago, Illinois.
Darrin Johnson, Economics, presented Renewable Energy R&D and Innovation at the Missouri Valley Economic Association in Kansas City, Kansas.
Brandon Jutras, Biological Sciences, presented Lone Star Tick, Borrelia lonestari, the Parasite and its Tick Host at the Association of Southeastern Biologists in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Yi Lin, College Student Affairs, presented Charting a Course of Overseas Study in China at the Midwest Meeting of Graduate Students in College Student Personnel in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Uros Marjanovic, Technology, presented Always-Connected Industrial Ethernet at the National Association of Indusrial Technology in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Jason Minard, History, presented Korematsu: Greed and Racism or Justified Removal? at the 29th Annual Mid-America Conference on History at Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Carolina Pelaez-Morales, English, presented Overcoming the "Double Division of Labor": Engaging English Studies in ESL Community Programs at the Future of English Studies Conference in Springfield, Illinois.
Alexandria Quinones, College Student Affairs, presented When the "Excluded' becomes the "Exclusive": Lesbians in Historically Black Sororities at the NASPA Summit on Black Greek Letter Organizations in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kyle Snyders, Elementary Education, presented Using Childrens' Literature to Engage Readers and Differentiate Comprehension at the 53rd International Reading Association Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.
Donna Vitale, College Student Affairs, presented An Examination of Collective Threat and Stereotype Threat at the Midwest Meeting of Graduate Students in College Student Personel in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Steve Warrner, Biological Sciences, presented Assesment of Stream Valley Segments as Determinants of Stream Habitat Qualityat the 68th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Spring 2008 Williams travel scholars include:
Sharlin Aldao, Political Science, presented An Examination of the 2004 Negative Presidential Campaign Ads at the Illinois State University Conference for Students of Political Science in Normal, Illinois
Alexandra Baluka, Biological Sciences, presented Oxalate-Consuming Activities of Probiotic Microorganisms at the 108th Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jeremy Bowling, Political Science, presented Economic Growth and Political Liberty: A Post-1980 Quantitative Analysis at the Illinois State University Conference for Students of Political Science in Normal, Illinois.
Danyelle Dehner, Biological Sciences, presented An Approach to Comparing Life History Traits of the Stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum) at the Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference in Athens, Ohio.
Peter Frey, Biological Sciences, presented Effect of Silvicultural Treatments on Sugar Maple Expansion Patterns in Upland Oak Forests at the Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference in Athens, Ohio.
Michael Kleen, History, presented The Copperhead Threat in Illinois: Peace Democrats, Loyalty Leagues, and the Charleston Riot of 1864 at the 2007 Conference on Illinois History in Springfield, Illinois.
Laura Ladwig, Biological Sciences, presented Ecology of Lianas in Regenerating Temperate Forests at the Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference in Athens, Ohio.
George Lesica, Economics, presented Informal Sector in Developing Countries: Measurement and Interaction with the Formal Sector at the Midwest Economics Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
Rachel Lutz, English, presented Thank Heaven for Little Girls: The Female Child in Martin Amis's Worlds Gone Wrong at the Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media in Dekalb, Illinois.
Christine Schaffer, Political Science, presented Can We Really do More with Less: The Case of Environmental Protection and Declining Rights at the Western Social Science Association Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado.
Shannon Schwab, Family and Consumer Sciences, presented Female Bullying and Victimization in High School at the Annual Illinois Council on Family Relations Conference in Champaign, Illinois.
Whitney Sturm, Communication Disorders and Sciences, presented Effect of Joint Reading and Language Experience at the Illinois Speech and Hearing Association in Rosemont, Illinois.
Corey Taylor, English, presented Q: Temporality and Identity in Postmodern Fiction at the Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and Media in Dekalb, Illinois.

Research/Creative Activity Award Winners Click here for more information...
Alexandra Baluka, Biological Sciences, for her research project: Evaluation of the Oxalate-Consuming Activities of Probiotic Microorganisms. Her research partner is Danisco USA, Inc.
William Beatty, Biological Sciences, for his research project: A Genetic Assessment of the Red Squirrel in Illinois: Natives, Immigrants. or Exotics? His research partner is the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Catherine Carman, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Danyelle Dehner, Biological Sciences, for her research project: Comparison of Life History Traits of the Central Stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum). Her research partner is the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Angie Drews, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Sarah Elm, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Alisha Good, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Dan Grzesiak, Historical Administration, for his research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. His research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Brandon Jutras, Biological Sciences, for his project: Lone Star Tick (Borrelia lonestar) the Parasite and its Tick Host. His research partner is the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Rachel Kleinschmidt, History, for her project: Independent Women: Political and Agrarian Activism of Single Women in Coles County, IL, 1890-1940. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Laura Ladwig, Biological Sciences, for her project: Ecology of Lianas in Regenerating Temporate Forests and Their Impact on Tree Growth. Her research partner is Rutgers University.
Kristen Lundquist, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Alyson Mazzone, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Laurie Stein, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.
Tiffany Taylor, Historical Administration, for her research project: Tilford E. Dudley: A Man of Conviction. Her research partner is the Coles County Historical Society.

GSAC Faculty Mentor Award Click here for more information...
Jean Smitley was awarded the 2008 GSAC Faculty Mentor Award. Ms. Smitley is an associate professor of communication disorders and sciences.

Graduate School Leadership Award Click here for more information...
The 2008 First Choice Graduate Programs were awarded the 2008 Graduate School Leadership Award. The graduate programs in History, Historical Administration, English, School Psychology, College Student Affairs and Communication Disorders and Sciences all achieved First Choice distinction in 2008.

Graduate School Graduate Program Initiative Awards Click here for more information...

International Initiative Awards Click here for more information...