GLENVILLE, WV – Glenville State University sophomore Aleta Rader was awarded the Carl A. Ross Student Paper Award at the 49th annual meeting of the Appalachian Studies Association (ASA), held March 19-22 at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

Ms. Rader’s paper, "Civic Sentimentalism: The Demolition and Scandal Behind the Old Parkersburg City Hall," was recognized as the best undergraduate-level research paper presented at the 2026 meeting, which was even more of an honor as this year’s ASA reportedly had the largest attendance and most presentations in the organization’s half-century history. 

Her research explored the debates and political maneuvers surrounding efforts to preserve Parkersburg West Virginia’s former city hall and examined the implications of those debates for the city’s economic development.

A native of Parkersburg, Ms. Rader is a History and Political Science major in Glenville State’s Department of Social Sciences.

For more information about Ms. Rader’s research or the Carl A. Ross Student Paper Award, please contact the GSU Department of Social Science at (304) 462-6109.