HAYS, Kan. -- Several Fort Hays State University faculty and students won awards, presented papers and held book signings recently at the 84th annual Kansas Association of Historians meeting at the National Archives in Kansas City, Mo.

In the undergraduate category, Josh Blau, Haysspecial student, won $125 for his paper "Reagan and Gorbachev: Ending the Cold War."

In the graduate category, Hollie Marquess, Plainville special graduate student, won with her paper "Safeguarding Their Health and Preserving Their Purity," and Eric Quaidoo, Pittsfield, Mass., graduate student, won with his paper "United States Policy with Ghana Between 1957 and 1966." The prize for the graduate category was $125 and a year-long subscription to Kansas History Magazine.

Christopher Dinkel, Hays graduate student, presented his paper "Moon Rocks and Mediations: The Formation and Early Actions of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space." Gary Younger, Hays graduate student, presented his paper "Iran Contra: The Crossroad between Public Opinion and Constitutional Law."

"This is a credit to the research and writing skills being taught at FHSU and to the students in the department," said Dr. David Bovee (pronounced boh-VAY), assistant professor of history.

Two faculty members participated in book signings at the meeting, Dr. Norman Caulfield, professor of history, for his book "NAFTA and Labor in North America," and Bovee for his book "The Church and the Land: The National Catholic Rural Life Conference and American Society, 1923-2007."

For more information about the Department of History at FHSU, visit the Web site at http://www.fhsu.edu/history.