The College of Fine Arts is honored to present the 2025 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher award to Elise C. LeMonnier from the Department of Art & Art History.
Elise is an undergraduate researcher whose honors thesis work "challenges long-held assumptions about medieval pilgrimage and devotion by means of an art historical analysis of pilgrim badges, making ground-breaking use of Digital Humanities methods in order to address how medieval pilgrims negotiated their own individual experience in the face of increasingly-global political, economic, and religious networks," described assistant professor Meekyung MacMurdie, who has mentored Elise since her freshman year.
Elise is currently working as research assistant to Dr. Jane Hatter in the School of Music, supported by a grant from Digital Matters, and has also collaborated with librarians at Marriott Library in advocating for Open Pedagogy Resources that prioritize inclusivity through features like alternative text and speech-to-voice options.
Graduating this spring with Honors degrees in Art History and English, along with a minor in Arts Technology, Elise was also named 2025 Outstanding Senior for the Department of Art & Art History.
"Her efforts demonstrate care, sensitivity, and optimism, and she brings the same dedication to all her work. A practicing poet and visual artist, Elise productively moves between disciplines and approaches, blending creative and academic research –– whether producing rigorous (and hilarious!) videos on pilgrim badges or crafting collages of feminist mixed-media cathedrals."
- Meekyung MacMurdie
