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Stanford Report, June 9, 2004

Six students honored with Hoefer Prizes

Six students have been awarded 2003-04 Hoefer Prizes for Excellence in Undergraduate Writing.

The prizes recognize exceptional work in Writing in the Major (WIM) courses and include a monetary award and a book, which is recommended by the instructor, featuring a "Hoefer Prize" bookplate and a calligraphic inscription of the student's name. The prizes were presented May 26 at a ceremony hosted by Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman.

The awards were established in 1996 with gifts to the university from Alan Hoefer and alumnus Kurt Hoefer, '87, through the auspices of the Hoefer Family Foundation. WIM teachers nominate students for the prizes. A selection committee judges the papers on criteria appropriate to the field, as well as general merits. The teachers of the courses in which the winning papers were written receive Hoefer Faculty Partnership Awards.

Following is a list of the winners, their paper titles and their instructors (in parentheses):

Hal Brands, junior in history and political science: "'As a Soldier, As a Citizen, As a Man': Henry and John Laurens, the Slave Regiment, and the Influence of Revolutionary and Republican Ideals on American Perceptions of Slavery" (Jack Rakove, the Coe Professor of History and American Studies, Departments of History and Political Science).

Phillip Dumesic, sophomore in biological sciences; Jared David Miller, sophomore in chemistry; and Emily Laura Stenseng, junior in biological sciences with minor in chemistry: "Determination of Fluoride Ion Concentration in Reach ACT Anticavity Fluoride Rinse Using Ion Exchange Chromatography" (Richard N. Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science, Department of Chemistry).

Jennifer Graham, junior in history: "Is Islam the Barrier to Democracy in the Muslim World? An Empirical Analysis of Muslim Culture and Its Democratic Tendencies" (Tim Büthe, visiting lecturer, Department of Political Science).

John M. Stoops, senior/coterminal student in sociology: "English Language Fluency: Performance Expectations and Participation" (Kathy J. Kuipers, lecturer, Department of Sociology).