OTTO RECIEVES GRADUATE COUNCIL'S AWARD

A 1990 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University's master's degree program in English was presented the Graduate Council's Excellence in Research Award at a ceremony Friday.

Catherine Otto of Cape Girardeau received the award for her thesis titled "Sleepless Nights and Human Endurance: Hemingway's Vision of Despair in Selected Short Stories."

The award is given annually to recognize a graduate student's excellence in research. Students are nominated by their department after their project is read and recommended by an outside reader. Nominations are read by a committee of three faculty members and the dean of Graduate Studies. The committee determines which projects should be recognized with the award.

Three projects by students who completed their degrees in 1990 were nominated. Sheila Caskey, dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Extended Learning, presented the award.

Otto completed her degree under the direction of Charles Hearn, professor of English, as part of the requirements for a master's degree in English. She currently is teaching part time in the Department of English at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale through a cooperative doctoral program.