Student Receives Grant for Undergraduate Research

The Westminster College Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning awarded an undergraduate research grant to Leanna Stitt, a Westminster senior English and sociology major, to continue research on 'Like Children Playing House': Images of the 1950s as Observed through Interviews and Fiction Literature."

Stitt, a daughter of Karen Smith of Pittsburgh and James Stitt of New Kensington, is a graduate of Plum High School. Her advisers are Dr. Virginia Tomlinson, Westminster College associate professor of sociology and director of the Drinko Center, and Dr. Ross Wastvedt, Westminster associate professor of English and chair of the Department of English and Public Relations.

"Enhancing opportunities for undergraduate research is an important component of the work of the Drinko Center in enriching undergraduate education," said Tomlinson. "The Undergraduate Research Initiative provides funding for students to conduct research and to present their research at regional and national conferences. So far this year 50 students have been awarded grants to conduct research."

All grant recipients are invited to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium held on campus in the spring.

Contact Tomlinson at (724) 946-6033 or e-mail tomlinvm@westminster.edu or visit www.westminster.edu/drinko for additional information."