Their research separated them from hundreds of other graduate students in the United States and Canada.
Ohio State graduate students Jennifer Desiderio and Keri Lunsford were among a select group of women awarded the $8,000 Scholar Awards from the Philanthropic Educational Opportunities Foundation.
"I was thrilled to be recognized by a national organization. It helped reaffirm the importance of my research," Desiderio said.
The P.E.O. Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established in 1961 to foster tax-deductible donations to educational and charitable projects.
The P.E.O. Scholar Award, instituted in 1991, is meant to acknowledge excellence in higher education and provide monetary support to women whose research is anticipated to make valuable contributions to their field.
The application process included a six page description of her dissertation, a history of her scholastic career and qualifications, undergraduate and graduate transcripts. After successfully moving through this phase, she became one of 641 women nominated for the one-time award.
This nomination led to more paperwork - including a narrative detailing her academic and career goals, graduate research, the reasons her research will make a difference, her teaching commitments, transcripts, a letter of recommendation from an OSU faculty member and a letter of support from two members of P.E.O. Chapter N.
Sara Garnes, professor of English at OSU, was one of the two P.E.O. members who wrote Desiderio's letter of support.
Since the nominees compete across disciplines, the significance of their work must be readily apparent to a wide audience, Garnes said.
"Jennifer's work indicated a significant contribution to the study of American literature with a new look at the role of women writers and their influence on the writers who are typically cited as forming the traditional canon in 19th century American literature," Garnes said.
Desiderio said her dissertation, " 'To Collect, Digest, and Arrange': Authorship in the Early American Republic, 1783-1827," amends a gap in American literary history by examining the ride and role of the author in the post-revolutionary marketplace.
The money Desiderio received will alleviate her teaching duties winter and spring quarters, making it possible for her to focus solely on writing the last two chapters of her dissertation.
Desiderio is in her fourth and final year of working toward her doctorate in English. She also received her master's degree in English from OSU in June 2000. She received her bachelor's degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., where she graduated cum laude in June 1997 with a double major in English and history.
She has taught English 110 and five other English courses at the 200 and 300 levels at OSU. Desiderio also served as a teaching assistant for English 700 under professor Marlene Longenecker.
In the future, Desiderio hopes to teach 18th and 19th century American literature courses at a college or university.
Desiderio was notified of her award by mail in summer 2003. A ceremony recognizing all 85 women graduate students from the United States and Canada who received Scholar awards took place in early September of 2003 in Des Moines, Iowa - home of P.E.O.'s international headquarters.
Efforts to contact OSU graduate student and fellow 2003-2004 P.E.O. Scholar Award winner, Keri Lunsford, were unsuccessful.
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