Annual Caffery Competition: Call for Student Research Projects
2023 Winner
Samantha Schexnayder has been named the winner of the 2023 Jefferson Caffery Research Award. Her paper was entitled "The Changing Effects of 1940s Masculinity on the Expression of Emotion in the Writings of American Servicemen in World War II."
The call for 2024 Student Research Projects and the deadline date will be announced soon.
About the Award
The Jefferson Caffery Research Award, established in 1967 by Ambassador and Mrs. Jefferson Caffery, recognizes outstanding scholarly research using primary source materials held in the Special Collections areas of Dupré Library. The winner of this annual award receives $500. The award is sponsored by Dupré Library and the University Library Committee.
Contact
Competition Information
Requirements
In order to be eligible for this award, applicants must be enrolled or have completed the submitted project during the previous two academic semesters at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as an undergraduate or graduate in any field of study. Faculty and staff are not eligible to submit applications, nor can they act as co-authors on the project. All projects must be in English and may be completed by groups of five or fewer.
Research of winning students will be preserved and made accessible in the University Archives. Applicants agree to have their projects included in the UL Lafayette Institutional Repository. The Library Committee will not accept projects that have been published or submitted for publishing. Projects must also not be already available on an open-access platform.
Topic
There are no restrictions placed on topics or subject matter; however, all projects must cite or directly investigate primary source materials held in the Special Collections areas of Dupré Library:
- University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collection
- Louisiana Room
- Rare Books Collection
- Ernest J. Gaines Center
- Cajun and Creole Music Collection
- U.S. Government Information
Format
Projects can be submitted in all formats, including but not limited to:
- Research papers (should be around 15 to 25 double-spaced pages)
- Digital research projects
- Documentary Film
Students must make sure they have obtained all copyright permissions for use in their projects.
Submissions
Projects are to be submitted electronically with all contact information, including ULID, to librarydeanoffice@louisiana.edu. The call for 2024 Student Research Projects and the deadline date will be announced soon.
Research Papers
For acceptance, submit the following items:
- Cover sheet
- A 250-word abstract discussing the main idea of the paper, sources used from Special Collections, and the citation style used
- In addition to the abstract, for group papers, each member must submit individual statements of no more than 250 words describing their roles in the project
- Bibliography with proper and consistent citations
Research Projects
For acceptance, submit the following items:
- Cover sheet
- 500-750 word research statement describing research strategies and the use of Special Collections resources
- In addition to the research statement, for group projects, each member must submit individual statements of no more than 250 words describing their roles in the project
- Bibliography with proper and consistent citations
- Web-based projects must include a link to the project
Judging
A panel consisting of the University Library Committee, Head of Special Collections, and referees designated by the committee will judge submissions. The panel will evaluate all award submissions using the Caffery Award Rubrics.
Special Collections Department of Dupré Library
Special Collections contains materials of relevance and scholarly interest to students from all academic departments of the University. Students interested in submitting a project to the Competition should visit the Jefferson Caffery Reading Room on the 3rd floor to review the catalog of library holdings in these areas. The staff in Special Collections are available for consultation. Interested students may call (337) 482-6031.