RADFORD – Radford University’s McConnell Library recently recognized two students with the 2008-09 Winesett Awards for Library Research.

English student Cody Beaton of Herndon earned recognition in the freshman/sophomore division for his project titled “Finding the Base of a Many Headed Hydra: The Ideological Fathers of Modern Radical Islamism.” International studies student Omar Hossino of Charleston, W.Va., won the junior/senior division prize for his project, “The Possibility of Classical Liberalism in the Orthodox Sunni Islamic Polity.” Each student received a $500 cash prize. The winning projects will be displayed at the library and will be available online.

Recognizing the value of effective research in today’s information-based society, McConnell Library introduced the Winesett Awards for Library Research during the 2005-2006 school year. The awards recognize creative and original library research completed by RU undergraduate students. Prizes are awarded to those students whose papers or projects best illustrate exemplary use of McConnell Library tools and resources and demonstrate personal development in the process of collecting data and gathering information.

“The Winesett Awards showcase how the library plays an important part in student success,” said Candice Benjes-Small, chair of the awards committee. “In the class setting, the emphasis is on the finished product. Through these awards, we are able to focus on the process and reward hard work that is not necessarily recognized elsewhere.”

The Winesett Awards are named in honor of Hazel Grove Winesett, whose generosity of spirit resulted in the largest gift to McConnell Library in its history. Winesett, who bequeathed an endowment of $820,000, graduated from what was then named the Radford State Teachers College in 1938 with a B.S. in home economics and minors in English and science. She pursued a teaching career in North Carolina.