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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       

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