FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 8, 2007

Contact:
Jeff Perez, Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 352-5566
E-mail: jperez@shawnee.edu 
(Article by Monica J. Bradbury, communications specialist)

SSU to host Celebration of Scholarship

(Students showcase undergraduate research at annual conference)

          Undergraduate college students are asked to submit projects in the classroom everyday, but only a few become the exceptional research projects worthy of presentation at Shawnee State University’s Celebration of Scholarship, the third annual undergraduate conference on May 17 at SSU.

          While other universities have participated in the past, this year the Celebration of Scholarship will be exclusively for Shawnee State students.   

          “It’s an all-day celebration of Shawnee State students’ scholarship,” said Shannon Lawson, M.A.T., assistant professor of English at SSU and co-chair for the Celebration of Scholarship committee.  “We have three breakout sessions and there are several presentations offered at these times.  Students and participants can pick which ones they want to attend.  We have seven to eight sessions going concurrently.  You have to pick and choose what you want to see, what you want to hear about.” 

          The event lasts from 9-3:30 p.m.  Oral presentations will begin at 9 a.m., followed by welcoming remarks by SSU President Dr. Rita Rice Morris.  At 10:15, the invited guest, Jennifer Pauley-Gose, Ph.D., will speak for an hour on “How do I get there from here?  Graduate Writing Groups, Authority, and the Process of Creating Scholarship.”  There will be a campus cookout from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Massie Hall (weather permitting).  At noon, the first poster and oral presentations session will begin, followed by another session at 1 p.m.  The keynote speaker, Kendra McSweeney, Ph.D., will present “Last stands in the rainforest conservationists, native people, and the fate of biodiversity in Latin America” from 2 to 3 p.m.  The event will end with the awarding of door prizes from 3:10 to 3:30 p.m.    

          The Celebration of Scholarship committee chose Dr. Kendra McSweeney as the keynote speaker and Dr. Jennifer Pauley-Gost as their invited speaker.

          “We wanted to try to bring someone who has done research in a science area and one in a humanities area,” Lawson said.  “Pauley-Gost is a graduate of SSU and currently the interim director of the Writing Center at Ohio University.  She’s going to talk about how one selects a field of study for a Ph.D.  She’s also been involved in interesting writing groups.” 

          When Pauley-Gost was working on her Ph.D., she grouped with other candidates to discuss the challenges they faced.  Eventually this group became more formalized.  When she finished her Ph.D., she became a facilitator for other candidates at Ohio University. 

          McSweeney is more of a traditional scientist, Lawson said.  McSweeney has completed field research in Latin America and she’s going to share that experience with the Shawnee State community. 

          “I think she’ll appeal to students who are interested in the natural sciences or are interested in travel or interested in other cultures,” Lawson said.  “I think she’s bringing slides, so we’ll get to see some pictures.” 

          A sample of the oral presentations titles includes:

•  “Modern Slavery”;

• “The Many Faces of Roman Portraiture”;

• “Science Fiction or Science Face: The Evidence of Global Warming”;

• “AIDS in Africa: A Case for Support”;

• “Femininity and the Self-Portrait: Examining Ourselves”;

•  “Poetry in Middle School”;

•  “Various Elements of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice”; and

•  “Mate Selection.” 

          “Each student had a faculty mentor who was willing to work with them to prepare the presentation,” Lawson said.  “Students weren’t required to go out and do a whole new presentation.  They could take something that they’ve done for a class and use that as the basis for their presentation.” 

          Shawnee State’s Celebration of Scholarship is sponsored by USEC, Churchill and Mary Hodges, and the Deans of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Professional Studies and the Provost.

          For more information, contact Scott Douthat, co-chair for the Celebration of Scholarship committee at (740) 351-3620.