John Miers Award for Excellence in Library Research

In October 2019, SPCS announced the creation of the John Miers Award for Excellence in Library Research in the School of Professional & Continuing Studies.

The award honors the memory and passion for research of John Miers, C’13, a graduate of the SPCS Weekend College program who passed away on June 7, 2019, after having been diagnosed with a rare form of myeloma just 19 days earlier.

The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage excellence among SPCS students in the use of library research skills. All SPCS degree-seeking students are eligible, based on a research project completed during the previous three semesters. Projects previously submitted are ineligible.

Selection Criteria

The winning project will demonstrate a depth and breadth of effective use of research materials and clear evidence of thoughtful command of these resources.

Excellent research projects which do not make significant use of library research materials (e.g., experimental projects) cannot, regrettably, be considered.

Honors theses and capstone projects recognized in other venues are not eligible for the Miers Award.

Nomination Process

Each SPCS faculty member (adjunct and full-time) may nominate one or two students each year by submitting each student’s research project. Projects should be nominated by May 15 annually, selected from among projects composed and submitted during the previous summer, fall, and spring semesters.

Nominated entries should be submitted by email attachment to MiersAward@richmond.edu. 

Award Selection

The selection committee will comprise Boatwright Memorial Library staff in addition to two members of the SPCS faculty, one adjunct and one full-time. SPCS faculty representative names will be forwarded to the Library by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.

Members of the committee will convene in the early summer each year to read nominated entries and select a winning project based on the selection criteria listed above. One undergraduate and one graduate winner will be selected annually.

The winners will be announced in the summer. The names of the winners will be inscribed on a plaque hanging in Boatwright Memorial Library, and each will receive an award certificate. Each winner will also be asked to select a new book for the library that will include a bookplate recognizing the awardee.

Award Recipients

2022: Samuel Parsons, C’22

  • Major: Human Resource Management (BSPS)
  • Paper: “Sexual Assault in the Military: Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act (MJIIPA)”

2021: Shannon Cooke, C’23

  • Major: Liberal Arts (BALA)
  • Paper: “The Need for Increased Mental Health Support for Students due to Impacts from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Proposed Solutions”