Herbert M. Handley Outstanding Dissertation / Thesis Award
Each year MSERA sponsors the Herbert M. Handley Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Award. A completed dissertation or thesis by a current member of MSERA may be considered for the award if the dissertation or thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of degree requirements and successfully defended in the academic year prior to the conference, including the most recent summer. The award winner receives a plaque and a $250 cash award. The dissertation director is also recognized.
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To be eligible for this award, the author must use the online submission process to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words as outlined in the Call for Papers AND the completed paper in PDF format by the deadline indicated in the Call for Papers. The abstract (i.e., proposal) must be accepted for presentation at the annual meeting before it can be considered for the award.
The paper based upon the dissertation/thesis may not exceed 25 double-spaced, typewritten pages, including narrative, tables and bibliography. No identifying information should be included in the complete paper.
Selection Procedures
Review for the award is a two-step process. First, the Distinguished Research Paper and Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards Selection Committee members, who are also members of the Program Committee, will review abstracts of the papers to determine if the paper will be accepted for presentation at the Annual Meeting and the paper itself to determine if the paper will be in the final round of consideration for the award.
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Second, the Distinguished Research Paper and Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards Selection Committee will review the papers to identify the most outstanding among those remaining following the first stage of the review process. The chair of the committee will ensure that each paper submitted receives a minimum of two (2) blind reviews by members of the Distinguished Research Paper and Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards Selection Committee during the review process.
The paper judged to be most outstanding at the conclusion of the two-stage process will be declared winner of the competition. The chair of the Distinguished Research Paper and Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards Selection Committee will announce the award winner at the MSERA annual meeting. The abstract from the winning dissertation will be published, on the MSERA web site, in the MSERA Educational Researcher, or both.
The Award
The award consists of a plaque and a $250 cash award. The dissertation adviser is also recognized. Upon receipt of the name(s) of the recipient from the Vice-President (Chair of the Distinguished Research Paper and Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Awards Selection Committee Committee), the Executive Director prepares a plaque for the recipient(s), a plaque for the dissertation advisor, and writes a check for $250 from the association. The plaques and check are delivered to the recipient at the Business Session of the Annual Meeting of the Association.
Past recipients of the
Herbert M. Handley Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Award
2023 Courtney Jarrell
2022 Kimberly Rogers-Davis
2021 Lisette Manuel
2020 Shannon D. Williams
2019 R. Stacy Fields
2018 Juanita McMath
2017 Andrain Yeldell
2015 James Bridgeforth
2014 Leilya A. Pitre
2013 Debbie D. Dailey and Shane T. Warren
2012 Jeremy Ross Serson
2011 Franz H. Reneau
2009 Monica Ratliff and Sherlyn Powell
2008 John F. Edwards
2007 Lishu Yin
2006 Paul Webb
2005 Susan Seay
2004 LaDonna K. Morris
2003 Mary Margaret Merrill
2002 Carla R. Monroe
2000 Laureen G. Mayfield
1999 Susan Dale Mason
1998 Sunya T. Collier
1997 Sue S. Minchew
1996 Rebecca McMahon
1995 Malenna A. Sumrall
1994 Jayne B. Zaharias
1993 Colleen C. Johnson
1992 Michele G. Jarrell
1991 Margaret L. Glowacki
1990 Kevin Hughes
1989 Gloria A. Turner
1988 Soo-Back Moon
1987 M. Nan Lintz
1986 Ester M. Howard
1985 Anne Hess