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The Writing Program recently recognized and celebrated the accomplishments of student writers and writing faculty at �Ӱ���Ƶ. The awards recognize the fundamental role writing plays in the work of the university.

Faculty Awards for Writing Instruction & Consulting

Jessica Melton Perry Award for Distinguished Teaching in Disciplinary & Professional Writing

The Jessica Melton Perry Award for Distinguished Teaching in Disciplinary & Professional Writing recognizes outstanding instruction in writing in professional fields and/or disciplines other than English. 

The award was established in 2009 by Edward S. Sadar, (ADL ’64, MED ’68) and Melinda Sadar (FSM ’66) in honor of Melinda’s mother, who worked in the Center for Documentation and Communication Research at Western Reserve University from the late 1950s into the late 1960s.

This year’s winner is Karen Beckwith, the Flora Stone Mather Professor in the Department of Political Science. Beckwith is recognized for her thoughtful approach to teaching disciplinary writing. She emphasizes the importance of reading and discussing ideas before writing, structuring writing in the larger conversations of her discipline, and providing students with feedback and encouragement. And as her nomination wrote, “she does so because she believes that such writing is a good in and of itself and prepares students to generate outstanding capstone projects and well-crafted political science papers that could be submitted as part of applications to law school, graduate school or other programs.” 

AIQS Innovative Teaching Award

The AIQS Innovative Teaching Award recognizes transformative teaching methods and approaches that enhance the experience of our first-year students in Academic Inquiry Seminars. 

This year’s winner is Narcisz Fejes, lecturer in English. One of her students captured how “transformative” Fejes has been for them, saying: “Prof. Fejes has made me feel more confident in my writing by pointing out strategies I can use to ensure that my work is sound. By taking the time to meet with me whenever I asked her, she made me feel like the work I was doing had meaning, even if I didn't feel that way. . .. She was also SOOOO passionate about the work she was doing and the material she was teaching that she made me switch my career path!!!!! Solely because of Prof. Fejes, I have found what I truly love to do…” 

Among many interesting writing assignments, Fejes uses a panel discussion at the end of the semester in her seminar courses. As another student explained, ”This exercise was invaluable in applying the knowledge we had gained throughout the course to real-world situations, especially when we explored current events and their intersection with the subject matter. The opportunity to engage in thoughtful discussions with my peers, backed by the knowledge we had accumulated, was a great way to see how the theory we learned in class translated into practical, everyday contexts.” 

WRC Excellence in Consulting Award

The WRC Excellence in Consulting Award recognizes outstanding writing instruction for students of the university and exemplary service to the Writing Resource Center during the academic year. 

This year’s winner is Katie Robisch, lecturer in English. Among Robisch’s many nominations from students making use of the Writing Resource Center, one student wrote: “Katie truly does make talking about writing and English so enjoyable. Every time I've met with Katie, I found myself being excited to write and think more critically about writing. She is such a ray of sunshine and can make vague feedback I've gotten on my papers from my professors as clear as day. I remember the second time I visited Katie three weeks after our first appointment. I didn't expect her to remember me, but as soon as I walked in she goes "[Student’s Name]! I'm so happy to see you, how did your paper turn out?" 

The kinds of connections that Robisch builds in her consulting work around a person’s writing are invaluable. 

Student Awards for Writing & Composing

These awards are given to students who submitted excellent papers from their first-year writing seminars during the 2023–24 academic year. 

• Karl Lemmerman Award for Analytical Writing was awarded to Graham Girone for his essay, “Utilizing Children’s Picture Books as Therapeutic Tools for Dementia Patients” (AIQS 100: Children’s Picture Books, Cara Bryne)
• The Holden Prize for Narrative/Creative Writing was awarded to Lucy Ma for her essay, “>R” (AIQS 100: Writing Math, Joe DeLong)
• The Holden Prize for Multimodal Writing was awarded to Katharina Staehr for her graphic work, “The Vanishing” (AIQS 100: The Art of the Graphic Memoir: Family, History, Migration, Alexandra Magearu)

The following students received honorable mentions for their work:

• Olivia Tung, “‘Can Maggie Speak?’: The Subaltern Voice in Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif’” (AIQS 100: Weird Fictions, Steve Pinkerton)
• Simon Fox, “Why Literacy in Engineering Is Fundamentally Challenging to Develop: The Paradox of Literacy in Engineering” (AIQS 120: Literacy and Life Stories, Simon Fox)
• Trissa Tsang, “Site Reading Essay” (AIQS 100: Making Belief: Facts and Writing, Stephanie Redekop)
• Francisco Delgado, Giorgi Malania, Kyle McCann, and Ugorji Barrah, “Empathy, Compassion, and Digital Literature” (AIQS 100: Digital Literature, Kristine Kelly)

Students enrolled in an AIQS in Spring 2025 are invited to nominate their work by May 16 for next year’s awards. .