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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University Libraries and Press has received a $100,000 estate gift to endow the Library Undergraduate Research Award.

The annual Library Undergraduate Research Award (LURA) recognizes outstanding research, scholarship, and originality in writing a paper or completing a project. The winning students receive a $1000 scholarship and present their research findings at a formal ceremony. This year's winners are Brittany Backen, a history major; and Arlyn Y. Moreno Luna, a bioresource research major. Backen's research paper is entitled "Coed Cheesecake:  The 1959 Wrestling Court and the Politics of the Marriage Market at Oregon State College." Luna's research paper is on "The Effects of Xanthohumol on Biomarkers of Metabolic Syndrome in Obese Rats."

The endowment was created from funds provided by the estate of Gilbert and Marie Cleasby. Marie, a 1952 OSU graduate, majored in home economics and was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She also was a member of the college chorus during her freshman year. She became a master gardener. Gilbert W. Cleasby, M.D., was a well-respected ophthalmologist in the Bay Area.

LURA was created seven years ago as an initiative of the Library Advisory Council. Previous winners have submitted papers on topics ranging from the socio-religious implications of the hijab headscarf to the impact of the grapevine leafroll virus on pinot noir fruit.

"Oregon State University Libraries and Press contributes to student success in many ways," said Faye A. Chadwell, Donald & Delpha Campbell University Librarian and OSU Press Director. "Funding LURA in perpetuity demonstrates our strong commitment to undergraduates at OSU."

Previous winning papers are available online in ScholarsArchive@OSU, the university's institutional repository, at http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/4505.

The Cleasbys' bequest is part of the $1 billion Campaign for OSU, the university's first comprehensive fundraising campaign. An important part of the campaign, estate gifts and other planned gifts support programs, faculty, and students throughout the university.