Student Achievements
Outstanding Thesis Selected for Award Competition
June 26, 2012
Luke Rapa, M.A., English, will compete with graduate students across the region in the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools’ 2012 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards. Luke’s thesis is entitled: ‘Out of This Stony Rubbish’: Echoes of Ezekiel in T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land.
The thesis was chosen from five recent Graduate Dean’s Citation for Academic Excellence-Outstanding Thesis award winners that were submitted for consideration to the MAGS thesis review committee. The review committee was chaired by Dr. Jeffrey Potteiger, Dean of Graduate Studies. Members included Dr. Joseph Ianelli (Engineering), Dr. Robert Deaner (Psychology), Dr. Colleen Brice (English), and Dr. John Stevenson, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.
The reviewers felt that Luke’s thesis went beyond simply being well-written and original. Dr. Ianelli stated, “When would a thesis be considered excellent? It must certainly be expertly written and adroitly persuasive. Many theses meet these desirable thresholds. When in addition to these necessary features, a thesis also presents a significant idea that makes the reader react with delight and appreciation for having being presented with a compelling proposition that was not considered before, but is nevertheless meaningful and instantly apprehended, then such a thesis becomes excellent. In the exploration of the “inexorable link” between the poet and the prophet in Eliot’s Waste Land this thesis is excellent.”
Recipients of the MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award will receive a $750 honorarium. In addition, up to $500 will be available to each recipient for travel expenses to attend the Annual Meeting, April 11-13, 2012 in Chicago, IL.