Library News
2026 Student Research and Creative Works Award Recipients
Posted on April 24th, 2026
Booth Library celebrated the 17th Annual Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Works on April 21 in the West Reading Room.
This year’s competition received a record 60 submissions from undergraduate and graduate students across EIU. The awards recognize student projects that demonstrate originality, depth of research, and meaningful engagement with library information resources, expert services, and technology.
Undergraduate Division
- First place: Hazel Norris, Public Health: Community Health
Paws and Practice: Overcoming Barriers to Mindfulness - Second place: M.E. Colby, Communication: Interpersonal Communication
Butterflies & You: Considerations of Human Relationships With the Natural World - Third place tie: Haley Strempel, History/Public History Minor
Stitches of Faith: Women’s Education and Religion in 18th and 19th Century Needlework Pieces - Third place tie: Emily Wilson, History: Teacher Education
Challenging Patriarchy: Female Agency Through Religious Roles in Ancient Babylonian Societies
Graduate Division
- First place: Emmy Rogers, Business Administration: Applied Management
Cryptocurrency Integration as a Response to Financial Innovation and Regulation - Second place: Paul Lambrecht, History
Beyond Graecia Capta: The Roman Imperial Cult in the Greek East and the Prospect of Hybrid Identities During the Principate - Third place: Sarah Smith, English
Bias in the Wires: Epistemic Harms of Linguistic Homogenization in AI-Assisted Writing
The 2026 awards were juried by the Booth Collaborative Advisory Committee. Digital copies of award-winning works are preserved in The Keep, EIU’s institutional repository.
The awards are made possible through the generosity of library donors, including gifts from the friends of Carl Lorber, Jr., professor emeritus and former longtime head of Reference Services at Booth Library, and through the philanthropic support of the Coles County Zythological Society.
