The John Strand Award was established in the memory of John Strand who was a student in Labor Studies and Industrial Relations. After graduating from Penn State, he spent his life helping people organize in the workplace. He worked with AFSCME, SEIU, and CWA union locals from coast to coast in an effort to bring more justice to all workers.

Undergraduate majors in LER who have written substantial papers as part of their course work in the department are eligible for this award. Recipients of this cash award must submit an "A" quality paper to a review committee comprised of no less than three faculty. The faculty serve as a panel of judges for making the award. The purpose of the award is to encourage improvement in the quality of our undergraduate students' written and analytical skills. Each year a call for papers will be advertised in LER classes as well as announced on the Department's website.

2008 Recipient

• Alex Sawchuk

2006 Recipient

• Rachel Lambert

2005 Recipients

• Dan A. Rife
• Michaela Perrotto-Brinn

Previous Recipients/Paper Titles

• 1997 - Michelle Tunno and Stacy Davidson co-authors "Australian Industrial Relations."
• 1998 - Tara Yoest for "Will Employee Involvement Programs Eliminate the Need for Labor Unions?"
• 1999 - Nathanael Duplaisir for "Holding the Line: The role of unions in Russia, Poland, and the Czech Republic."
• 2000 - Kristin Van Zile for "The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership"
• 2001 - Angela C. Nolfi
• 2002 - Michelle Wong for "The Validity of Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker Scale and How it Affects the Contingency Theory of Leadership"
• 2003- Jane Harris and Rebecca Perez
• 2005-Dan Rife for "Rethinking Minimum Wage Legislation"
• 2005-Michaela Perrotto-Brinn for "Emotional Intelligence and Leadership"
• 2006-Rachel Lambert for "Leadership and Motivation"