For more than two decades, the UO Libraries has acknowledged and honored undergraduates' outstanding scholarly work with the Libraries' Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE). Screening from a highly competitive pool of 50+ submissions, the library's LAURE award committee named four distinguished members of the Class of 2025 as the latest award recipients.

The graduates were recognized and spoke about their research methodologies at the 2025 LAURE Award Celebration in the Knight Library Browsing Room.

"All University of Oregon students have opportunities to conduct original research as part of their course work, and we in the Libraries are continuously impressed by their collective level of accomplishment," said Vice Provost and University Librarian Alicia Salaz. "The LAURE award is our way of recognizing 'best-of-the-best' achievements in applying library research skills to produce original scholarship."

Students in all of UO's schools, colleges and academic majors are eligible for the awards. Applicants may submit thesis, multi-term projects or single-term papers completed for courses at the 200 level or above. Over the years, the wide range of academic endeavor at the university has been reflected in the roster of LAURE winners.

“In this award cycle, the work submitted by UO undergraduates continued to be diverse and outstanding," said Chloe Barnett, the undergraduate engagement and student success librarian and 2025 LAURE committee chair. "This year’s winners represent a wide variety of disciplines and research topics. Projects included work in comparative literature on US-Mexico Migration narratives; an art-historical essay examining La Revolución by Mexican artist Fabián Cháirez; a case study of a non-profit reentry employment agency, Opportunity Oregon; and a study of how athletic trainers in college sports are navigating nutrition counseling using dietary supplements.”

Each LAURE winner receives a $1,500 scholarship; an additional honor is having their work added to Scholars' Bank, an open access digital archive for the scholarly and creative output of the University of Oregon community. The awards are made possible with generous support from the Milton C. and Barbara B. Sparks Endowment and the Jon and Lisa Stine Endowment.

“We thank our donors for helping to honor our student colleagues and the willingness of those students to share their research experiences,” said Barnett.

Meet the 2025 LAURE Winners

Jonah Gómez Cabrera 

Art and Art History ’25

College of Design
Faculty advisor: Victoria H. Ehrlich
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/31769
Title: "The Fragility and Visibility of The Authentic Mexican Identity–An Analysis of ‘La Revolución’ by Fabián Cháirez"

La Revolución (2014) by Fabián Cháirez subverts traditional masculine portrayals that have been historically imposed to the image of Emiliano Zapata through homoerotic, drag, and queer dispositions. The work catalyzed social unrest within the Zapatistas when it was presented at the Palacio de Bellas Artes’ 2019 exhibition, Emiliano. Zapata Después de Zapata. Protesters argued that La Revolución was unpatriotic and a transgression of Zapata’s legacy by appropriating a queer narrative. However, it also garnered support from the LGBTQ+ community and nationally recognized fine arts institutions by advocating for greater visibility in the media and critically assessing exclusionary practices against queer people of color. The contextualization of Cháirez’s contemporary painting and exhibition within this case study serves as a comparative analysis that investigates the mythicization of Emiliano Zapata as a hero and a symbol for nationalistic and heteronormative ideals of masculinity and femininity in Mexican society. This analysis also integrates discourse of gender performativity, “Queer Neutrality,” semiotics, and Octavio Paz’s cultural theorization of “The Mexican Mask” in his book El Laberinto de La Soledad.

Patrick Alemán Henslee

Comparative Literature ’25

College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty advisor: Michael Allan
Scholar's Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/31768
Title: “Border Fictions: Nationalism and Decolonial Aesthetics in US-Mexico Migration Literature"

This essay explores the literary representations of national identity, national borders, and transnational Latinx migrants in Valeria Luiselli’s Lost Children Archive (2019) and Yuri Herrera’s Signs Preceding the End of the World (2015). Both novels interrogate the myth of American exceptionalism and the common preconceptions Americans have toward Latinx migrants: Luiselli’s novel portrays a national identity crisis following the narrator’s confrontation with the reality of the ongoing child refugee crisis, while Herrera’s novel assumes the transnational migrant’s perspective to dissect the illogical meanings attributed to the symbols and practices that support American nationalism. This project builds from Glenda R. Carpio’s formulation of “migrant aesthetics” in contemporary migration literature, from which I consider literary features that expose the fragile yet highly consequential assumptions that compose American national identity. Across the various sections of the essay, I argue that migration fiction constructively questions the nationalist ideologies that produce physical and intangible violence against Latinx migrants.

Audrey Pedersen

Human Physiology and Food Studies ’25

Robert D. Clark Honors College
Faculty advisor: Lawrence Ulibarri
Scolar's Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/31767
Title: "The Intersection of Athletic Training and Nutrition Counselling in Regard to Dietary Supplements"

This research investigates the intersection of athletic training and nutrition specifically regarding nutrition counselling and dietary supplementation. The study aims to explore potential gaps in the knowledge of clinicians for college athletics at all levels. A literature review was conducted and is accompanied by a survey of 626 athletic trainers from across the United States of America. The participants answered questions on a six-point Likert scale about their confidence and knowledge regarding nutrition and three different kinds of supplements. The results of the survey concluded that there was no significant gap in knowledge among athletic trainers among divisions, however, there was a strong desire for further training and knowledge regarding sports nutrition. This research demonstrates the need for more education provided to athletic trainers who care for college athletes at all three divisions. Further, this thesis suggests that athletic trainers are highly connected to an athlete’s overall well-being, and having a wellrounded educational background will help them to give athletes the best care possible.

Kaitlyn Tambur 

Sociology ’25

Robert D. Clark Honors College
Faculty advisor: Stephanie Wiley
Scholars' Bank URI: https://hdl.handle.net/1794/31766
Title: “Recidivism and Reentry Employment Agencies: A Case Study of Opportunity Oregon”

This study examines the impact of reentry employment agencies on individuals’ lives post-incarceration, using Opportunity Oregon as a case study. To assess this impact, ten variables were identified and analyzed to determine their significance and potential correlation with an individual’s likelihood to initiate and sustain contact with Opportunity Oregon. The findings aim to shed light on the types of individuals who are more likely to engage with reentry services and what that reveals about the accessibility and effectiveness of such programs.

About the LAURE

With generous support from the Milton C. and Barbara B. Sparks Endowment and the Jon and Lisa Stine Endowment, the UO Libraries’ Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE) recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate excellent library research skills with a $1,500 scholarship. (Currently enrolled students receive awards as scholarships and recent graduates receive a cash award.) 

Established in 2004, LAUREs are given in two categories:

• Single-term papers and projects from a 200-level or above course
• Theses or multi-term papers and projects

Research projects from all disciplines are welcome. Previous award winners represent a wide variety of academic disciplines, including Anthropology, Art History, Environmental Studies, International Studies, Religious Studies, and General Science. 

The Awards Committee, composed of UO faculty librarians and other library personnel, reviews applications once a year. Interested applicants and faculty members wishing to encourage their students to apply for the LAURE can find the details about requirements, judging criteria and timelines in the research guide about the LAURE award. You can also learn more about previous LAURE winners.

2025 LAURE Committee: Chloe Barnett, Nancy Cunningham, Mandi Garcia, Jason Stone, Jaz Tojong, Rayne Vieger, Dean Walton

Reviewers: Kevin Hatfield, Kristin Buxton, James Daley, Katherine Donaldson, Heghine Hakobyan, Abby Johnson, Joel Liesenberg, Linda Long, Kevin McDowell, Emily Moore, Ben Murphy, Chelsea Nestel, Talia Paz, Ann Shafer, Genifer Snipes, Kathy Stroud, Dean Walton, Annie Zeidman-Karpinski

For library help, LAURE finalists cite: Chloe Barnett, Gabriele Hayden, Miriam Rigby, Kathy Stroud, library faculty and staff (collectively) from Special Collections and University Archives, the John E. Jaqua Law Library, Data Services, and Access Services.

Have questions? Visit Libraries' Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence or contact Undergraduate Engagement and Student Success Librarian Chloe Barnett.