Information for Faculty Nominators

The student or project must have a faculty letter of support to submit a complete application package. The letter will become property of the library and will not be returned.

Support Letters: Do They Really Matter?

Yes, they matter very much! While the Library Research Award Committee members are accomplished researchers in their own rights, your expert disciplinary assessment weighs heavily in the evaluation process. The committee is depending on your nomination to inform the following areas of concern:

  • How the student's use of library materials, whether print, online or both, contributed to making the project comprehensive, original, or unique.
  • The strength and merit of the research topic within the discipline
  • Demonstration of creative thought and originality with respect to the paper's or project's thesis or goals
  • The student's overall demonstrated understanding of the discipline and the appropriateness of the research topic's scope within the discipline
  • The completeness and appropriateness of the consulted resources list (e.g., bibliography)
  • The degree to which the student synthesized the various perspectives, data, and fundamentals found in the resources
  • Assessment of how the student meets expectations for compliance with standards (e.g., citation style) and how their performance compares to other undergraduate students in academia.

Support Letter Requirements

As you work with the ideas expressed above, your support letter needs to address the following:

  • The relevance of the project to your assignment prompt
  • The relevance of the project to your course learning goals?
  • Whether the sources used were appropriate for the scope of the argument and its method
  • Whether the methods of research and argumentation were consistent with disciplinary standards
  • Other considerations
    • Include information about any special challenges the student faced in their research.
    • Be specific about the role of the student from the initiation through the completion of the research. Was the series of studies conceived solely by the student, or did the student follow new or long-standing research activity of a faculty member?
    • Is the student an outstanding representative of the University, and if so, why?

Letters may be submitted to: jcornelio@lmu.edu as a message or an attachment.

Questions?

Contact Jill Cornelio at 310.338.4593, jcornelio@lmu.edu.