Thank You!

Whew!  The 2014 Symposium has closed, and I will declare it a success.  For the fifth straight year, I was blown away by the work that students presented.  It was clear that every presentation of the day was fueled by hard work and passion.  Congratulations to all the students and their faculty mentors.

Today I want to take a moment to thank a few people who are instrumental in making the Symposium run smoothly.

First, a huge thanks to all in the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's office, who support the program financially and administratively.  This includes Dean Dawn Weber, who spearheaded the effort to start URCA five years ago, and who is the energy and spirit behind this event.  Also included in this thank you are Associate Dean Michael Hupfer and the Dean's Assistant Patti Brown.

Second, I'd like to thank the members of the URCA Committee, who worked tirelessly on every aspect of this Symposium, but who were particularly instrumental during the abstract review and revision process.  Thank you to Dr. Ted Avtgis (Communication Studies), Prof. Charles Caldemeyer (Art), Dr. Hilary Donatini (English), Prof. Fabio Polanco (Theatre), Dr. Michael Schwarz (History), and Dr. Andrew Trimble (Biology/Toxicology)

A tremendous thank you to Sarah Wells (Director, MFA Program) for her work in putting together the Symposium abstract book.  It is beautiful and professional, and Sarah does an amazing job with it each year.

Next, I'd like to thank several people throughout the university who assisted with putting on the event.  Thank you to Steve Hannan and Kris Kennedy, who were instrumental in the promotion and marketing of the event.  Thank you to Jim Misel and the Catering staff for their work in preparing Upper Convo.  Thank you to the Physical Facilities folks for taking care of the poster stands for us.  Thank you to Steve Suess and the Early Birds Word crew at WRDL for their coverage of the event.  Thank you to Brenda Rodeback, who helped facilitate several pieces of this whole puzzle.

Thanks to the faculty who mentored students, and to all faculty in the College who suspended classes for the day of the Symposium so that their students could participate and attend.  Thanks to all who came and supported the event.

And last but not least, thanks to the students from the CAS Scholars Program, Tri Beta, Comm Studies, and Psi Chi who staffed the front table for us during the event.  I'll close with a couple of pictures of their smiling faces:

Highlights of the 2014 Symposium: The Oral Presentation Sessions

I have fewer shots from the Oral Presentation sessions, partly because I worry about throwing presenters off by holding up my iphone during their talks, and partly because I often am too caught up in what they're saying to think about taking photos.  Still, I managed a few:

Here, Dr. Michael Schwarz moderates Oral Session I:

Presenters Lauren Fattlar (Communication Studies) and Barbara Mooneyham (Art) met for the first time at URCA, but bonded quickly as they both prepared to present in Oral Session II:

Also from Oral Session II, Peter Kobunski presented his work on lead exposure:

Here, Psychology student Samantha Diemer presents her work on aggressive cues:

Highlights of the 2014 Symposium: The Art

The art pieces featured at URCA are often my favorites from the day and are always popular with attendees!  Here are a few of the pieces that were featured during this year's Symposium:

Karly Beuck exhibited several of her paintings:

Barbara Mooneyham exhibited several of her sculpted pieces:

Marissa Uhrig exhibited these digital art pieces:

The 2014 Symposium Schedule is Complete!

The students, the faculty mentors, the members of the URCA Committee, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences have worked hard over the last five weeks to polish abstracts and finalize plans.  Now, we are pleased to announce that the schedule for the 2014 URCA Symposium is available!  Click here to view and print the schedule.

Check Out Our New Display!

Next time you're near the AU Library, stop in and check out the URCA display in the case near the elevators on the main floor.  We're hoping the display will serve as a reminder to students to submit their abstracts, and as a way to get everyone excited for this year's event.  Many thanks to the Library staff, especially Reference and Instruction Librarian Kathryn Venditti, for allowing us to use the display case!

Abstract Workshop Set

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Symposium Committee will hold an abstract preparation workshop on Wednesday, January 8th at 8:00 p.m. in Schar 103.  Reservations are not necessary.  All students who are eligible to present at this year's URCA Symposium are welcome.  Students should bring drafts fo their abstracts-in-progress to the workshop, where they will receive individualized feedback from a member of the URCA Symposium Committee.

The 5th Annual URCA Symposium will highlight the research, scholarly, and creative activities of students throughout Ashland University's College of Arts and Sciences, and will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2014.  All students who are declared majors in a program within the College of Arts and Sciences are encouraged to participate in this year's Symposium.  Presenters may choose to give an oral presentation, poster presentation, exhibition, or a performance.  All presentations should have a significant research or creative component; examples include, but are not limited to summer research conducted at AU or elsewhere, results of independent study projects, thesis work, literary readings or analyses, musical or theatre performaces, and exhibitions of artwork.

Students who wish to present at the Symposium must prepare an abstract in Microsoft Word and email that Word document to the URCA Symposium Committee at au.urca@gmail.com.  Instructions for how to prepare a submission, as well as sample abstracts, can be found here on the blog by clicking the navigation tabs along the top.  All abstracts submitted require approval of a faculty sponsor.  The deadline for submitting abstracts is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2014.

Ashland URCA Blog: Submission Instructions

The Call for Abstracts for the Fifth Annual URCA Symposium has just been released!  Click the link below for more details.

Ashland URCA Blog: Submission Instructions: The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium Committee is pleased to announce the call for abstracts for the Fifth Annual Coll...