Ashland URCA Blog

 

Call for 2021 URCA Abstracts: Deadline extended to Feb. 12 | Symposium: Apr. 15

Dear Colleagues,

The deadline for submitting abstracts for the 2021 College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium has been extended to 5pm on Friday, February 12th.  Please see original portal posting below and the attached document for additional details.

Chris Swanson

 

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Abstracts for the Twelfth Annual College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium. This event will highlight the research, scholarly, and creative activities of students throughout the College of Arts and Sciences, and will be held with a virtual format on Thursday, April 15, 2021.  (Please note: All CAS classes beginning before 4:30 p.m. on April 15, 2021 will be cancelled that day for the Symposium.)

All students who are declared majors in a program within the College of Arts and Sciences are invited to participate in this year's Symposium.  Group projects in which some members are majoring outside of the College of Arts and Sciences will be considered by the URCA Symposium Committee.   Current students, as well as December 2020 graduates, are welcome to present their work.  Presenters may choose a preference to give an oral presentation, poster presentation, exhibition, or performance.  All presentations should have a significant research or creative component; examples of such include, but are not limited to, summer research conducted at Ashland University or elsewhere, results of independent study projects, thesis work, literary readings or analysis, musical or theatrical performances, and exhibitions of artwork.

I am contacting you today not only to inform you of this event, but also to ask you to encourage students in your classes and departments to consider submitting an abstract to present at the Symposium.  All abstracts submitted require approval of a faculty sponsor who is familiar with the student's work and can attest to the quality of the work.  At the time of submission, students will indicate who their faculty sponsor is.  The URCA Symposium committee will contact the sponsor via e-mail to confirm that the sponsor has viewed and approved the abstract.  In approving a submission, a faculty sponsor is indicating that the abstract meets the faculty sponsor's standard for professional work, and that the abstract is print-ready.  Submissions that have not been approved by a faculty sponsor will not be accepted.

Students wishing to present at the Symposium should prepare an abstract in Microsoft Word and email that Word document to the URCA Symposium Committee at au.urca@gmail.com. Faculty sponsors must be copied on the email that contains the submission. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5, 2021. This deadline is firm.

 

A complete submission must include ALL of the following:

 

A. Name of Student Presenter(s)

B. Campus Box Number of Student Presenter(s)
 
C. Home Address of Student Presenter(s)
 
D. Class Year (e.g. junior, senior) and Major(s) of Student Presenter(s)
 
E. Name of Faculty Sponsor
 
F. College of Arts and Sciences program in which the work is focused (e.g. Biology, Psychology, Music)
 
G. Title of the Presentation
 
H. Preferred Format of Presentation (Poster Presentation, 12 Minute Performance, 12 Minute Oral Presentation, or Art Exhibition)
 
I. Special Equipment Required (if no other equipment is needed, please indicate "No special equipment needed")
 
J. Body of the Abstract (250 words or fewer)
 
K. Anticipated Scheduling Conflicts for Symposium on 4/15/2021 (e.g. COBE/COE/CON class meetings, athletic events, or other commitments that cannot be moved on this date; if none, please indicate "No scheduling conflicts anticipated")
 
Students who would like to see examples of acceptable abstracts may view abstracts from the prior years' events on URCA blog (http://ashlandurca.blogspot.com).  Additionally, these submission instructions and helpful hints for preparing submissions will be archived on the blog.  The URCA committee will hold an abstract writing workshop in January in order to assist students in polishing their abstracts.  In the meantime, should you or your students have any questions about presenting at the Symposium or the abstract submission process, please don't hesitate to contact me.
 
Thanks, and we look forward to reading students' submissions again this year!
 
Chris Swanson
 
cswanson@ashland.edu
 
Questions may also be directed to members of the URCA Symposium Committee:
 
URCA Symposium Committee
 
Megan Connor, University Writing Center
 
Dr. Allyson Drinkard, Sociology
 
Dr. Scott Garlock, Music
 
Dr. Nicholas Johnson, Chemistry
 
Dr. Peter Mallik, Psychology
 
Dr. Wendy Schaller, Art
 
Dr. Kelly Sundberg, English