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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Eight Oregon State University students have received a new honor for their writing ability - a Writing Intensive Curriculum Culture of Writing Award.

Presented by the students' departments and OSU's Writing Intensive Curriculum Program, the awards recognize the top undergraduate paper written in the respective departments during the 2005-06 academic year.

This is the first year for the awards, created to promote a university culture that values excellence in writing, said Vicki Tolar Burton, director of the Writing Intensive Curriculum Program.

Award winners and the titles of their papers include:

• Baker City: Catherin Owens, Agricultural and Resource Economics (OSU's Eastern Oregon Program), for "Assessing the Economic Impact of NRCS Programs on Baker County Oregon's Economy: a Proposal."
• Bend: Robyn Lopez Melton, Liberal Studies (OSU-Cascades Campus), for "A Woman's Role."
• Corvallis: Margaret Jo Whiting, Women's Studies, for "Yanyun Zhao: A Story of Progress in China"; Shawn Majors, Geosciences, for "Chemical Variability Comparisons of Springs and their Relationships to Local Lithologies"; Eddie O'Donnell, Biochemistry and Biophysics, for "Pathogenic Mechanisms of Cancer Causing hMLH1 Mutations."
• Philomath: Sharon Sternadel, Mathematics, for "Circles in a One-Way Street Taxicab Model."
• Salem: Calvin Hughes, Sociology, for "A State of Crisis: Alcohol Use Among Oregon High School Students."
• Sandpoint, Idaho: Danya Rumore, Agricultural and Resource Economics, for "Agri-Environmental Policy: Greening Agriculture."