Research paper competition to take place on NE Campus

By Ashley Bradley/ne news editor

NE Campus Library will hold a research paper competition this April in honor of Dr. Van Parker, who died last year.

Parker worked on NE Campus for 40 years and, before retiring, served as vice president for student development services.

The Dr. Van Parker Research Award winner will receive a $50 gift certificate, and an engraved plaque will hang in the library.

The deadline to submit work is April 7. Students should be enrolled in at least three credit hours on NE Campus and be nominated by an instructor.

Students must then submit their pieces electronically or in print to learning center coordinator Anne Drake in the library or at anne.drake@tccd.edu.

The paper must be at least three pages in length, not including a citation page, must show exemplary research skills and have a minimum of three secondary sources.

The project cannot be a book or film review.

Drake said she and the other competition organizers purposely kept the criteria vague to include all areas of study.

She said the criteria basically invite instructors to enter research papers they have already graded for their classes.

“Classes including English, science and child development write research papers, and we want all of those areas of study to be included,” she said.

Drake, a member of the award committee, will help decide the winner.

Bob Sparks, music associate professor and chairperson of the learning resources community, said he is looking for a research paper that is convincing.

“I want to see how well they can do research,” he said.

Other members of the committee include legal professor Karen Silverberg, photography associate professor Patricia Richards, physics and astronomy associate professor Ray Benge, history instructor Andrew Hollinger and librarian Beth Mullins.

Before Parker held the position of vice president for student development services, he was a faculty member, an assistant dean and a dean.

Friend and former colleague Steven Hagstrom, NE library director, worked under Parker for a number of years. He said Parker was a great leader.

“Van Parker was an extremely important part of this campus,” he said. “He was here since day one.”

Hagstrom said that while they worked together, he got to know Parker’s personality.

He said though Parker was tough, he was always a gentleman and always made individuals feel as if they were the only things important at that moment.

“He told these awful jokes, but you laughed anyway because he enjoyed them so much,” Hagstrom said. “Van Parker was a big deal. You know we will always need Van Parkers.”

Hagstrom said Parker dedicated his entire career to students, and he’s glad to see him honored for his contributions.