News: 2012, October 23rd

 

Master’s Thesis Award winners for 2012-13

 

Four recent Auburn University graduates have been selected as winners of the Graduate School’s 2011-12 Master’s Thesis Awards.

Award winners are Leah Craig, Harrison Meadows and Zachary Wakefield in the Humanities and Fine Arts category; and Brandon Swan in the Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering category.

The Master’s Thesis Awards recognize the scholarship of master’s students whose theses make an unusually significant contribution to their respective disciplines. Auburn’s colleges and schools nominate students for the awards, and an award committee named by the Graduate School selects the winners for the two categories.

This year’s winning theses were:

— “Un-Living History: Programming, Interpretation, and Management at Haunted Historic Sites” by Leah Craig.The thesis examines 10 historic sites throughout the Southeast that are considered haunted while exploring the advantages and disadvantages of using ghost stories, ghost programming and paranormal investigators at historic sites. Craig’s thesis committee consisted of faculty members Aaron Shapiro (chair), Adam Jortner and Reagan Grimsley. Craig graduated from Auburn with a master’s degree in history in August 2012.

— “The Use of Negative Water Imagery in the Rimas of Juan de Moncayo y Gurrea” by Harrison Meadows. The thesis investigates the complex nature of water imagery in a collection of poetry by 17th-century Spanish poet Juan de Moncayo y Gurrea. Meadows’ thesis committee consisted of faculty members Ted McVay Jr. (chair), Jana Gutierrez and Pedro Cebollero. Meadows graduated from Auburn with a master’s degree in Spanish in August 2011.

— “Competition Graphs” by Brandon Swan. The thesis examines four mathematical areas pertaining to competition graphs, which were created in 1968 by biologist Joel Cohen. Swan’s thesis committee consisted of faculty members Chris Rodger (chair), Dean Hoffman and Curt Lindner. Swan graduated from Auburn with a master’s degree in mathematics and statistics in May 2012.

— “Taking the Stand: Theodore Bilbo’s 1946 Senate Hearing and the Complexities of Mississippi’s Post-War Civil Rights Struggle” by Zachary Wakefield.  The thesis examines the 1946 re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi and how his campaign can be used as a prism through which to view the civil rights struggle in Mississippi and the nation. Wakefield’s thesis committee consisted of faculty members David Carter (chair), Charles Israel and Jennifer Brooks. Wakefield graduated from Auburn with a master’s degree in history in May 2012.

Award winners receive an honorarium of $250 and a certificate, which is presented at the Graduate School’s annual award ceremony each spring. Of this year’s winners, Meadows and Swan will go on to compete for the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ 2012-13 Master’s Thesis Awards.

The categories for the Master’s Thesis Awards rotate each year. The Graduate School is now soliciting nominations for the 2013-14 categories: Social Sciences, Business and Education; and Life Sciences. Find more information on nominations for the 2013-14 Master’s Thesis Awards here.

Last modified: July 12, 2016