The University of Southern Mississippi’s Committee on Services and Resources for Women (CSRW) recently announced the winners of its annual Research Grant stipends and Kathanne W. Green Essay Award competitions.

The Research Grant Stipend Competition awarded grants of up to $1,000 to faculty and graduate students doing research concerning women and women's issues and to staff in support of professional development programs geared toward women or women's issues.

Research Grant winners and their projects included Dr. Ruth Percy, visiting assistant professor of history, who received $1,000 for  "The Rise of the Bottom--Feeder" (a study of African American Women in the catfish industry); Dr. Heather Marie Stur, assistant professor of history, $440 for "Dragon Ladies, Gentle Warriors, and Girls Next Door: Gender and the Vietnam War"; Dr. Pamela Tyler, associate professor of history, $560 for "Hot Damn: Diaries of a Southern Girl, 1928-1935"; and Dr. Karen Sue Hostetter, assistant professor and program director for the School of Human Performance and Recreation, $1,000 for "The Development of a Risk Scale for the Female Athlete Triad.”

The Kathanne Green Essay Contest provided awards of up to $200 to authors of undergraduate and graduate papers dealing broadly with women, feminism and women's issues. Kaycie Hall, a junior from Brandon and Zoe Beckham, a junior from Mandeville, La., received a $200 and $50 award, respectively, with Hall winning for her paper “The Roles of Linguistics and Gender in Ursula LeGuin’s ‘She Unnames Them’” and Beckham for “Tennyson’s Fickle Princess.”

Celeste Wheat, a doctoral student in higher education administration from Petal, received a $200 award for her project, "Female Leadership and the Community College Presidency: A Review of the Literature Concerning the Patterns, Trends, and Issues that Characterizes Women's Rise to the Community College Presidency." Doctoral students Erin Elizabeth Smith of Columbia, S.C., and Michelle Nichols of Idalou, Texas, received honorable mention recognition.

The CSRW is an interdisciplinary group of Southern Miss faculty and staff members interested in women’s issues in general, but particularly on campus and in the Hattiesburg community. Since 1984, the CSRW has been active in the promotion of women’s issues by creating a women’s center/library (a collection of books, media and other resources), organizing conferences with renowned guest speakers, producing major cultural events and providing funding for research and services to faculty, staff and students. For more information about the Committee on Services and Resources for Women, call 601.266.6891.

About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities.  In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world.  Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss., with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu.