Another Chance to See "Unconscious Surrealism"

Mauricio Uranga (senior, Fine Art & Commercial Art) will give an encore presentation of his URCA talk, "Unconscious Surrealism," on Wednesday, April 17th at 12:00 p.m. in the Coburn Art Gallery.  Please attend and support this artist's fine work!  Many thanks to Professor Charles Caldemeyer, Cynthia Petry, and everyone at the Coburn Gallery for allowing us another opportunity to hear from Mauricio.

Highlights from the 2013 Symposium

What a fantastic day!  AU students are doing some great things!  Here are just a few of the highlights from the 2013 URCA Symposium:  

 

 

Chris Yocum and Ben Bushong discussed the computer game

that they created with Symposium guests:

 

Mauricio Uranga exhibited five of his paintings:

 

 

Jensen Glick displayed some of the costumes he created for

AU's production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

 

Jacob Ewing presented twice today, including giving this

engaging talk about hipsters: 

Jalessa Brown and Morgan Phillips discussed

Morgan's research on coping styles:

Jared Baisden shared his research on the characterization of

a compound extracted from wilted red maple leaves:

It's URCA Symposium Week!

It's nearly here!  This Wednesday, April 10th, is the 4th Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Symposium at Ashland University.  More than 50 students from 13 academic departments from across the College of Arts and Sciences will present their work on Wednesday in Upper Convo.  Those students have been working for months to produce the work that will be showcased at the Symposium, and many are continuing even now to put the final touches on their presentations. 

I am proud to be part of a College that supports students' research and creative activty and thrilled that I am able to be involved with the Symposium.  Although I shouldn't play favorites, I have to admit that I am particularly excited to see three students in particular shine on Wednesday: Amber Weaver, a senior psychology major who will present data from her Honor's thesis; Jalessa Brown, a senior criminal justice major who will present the results of a study she conducted during her study abroad experience; and Morgan Phillips, a sophomore psychology major who will present data that she collected as a research assistant in the Psychology Department.  I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with these women and cannot wait to see their presentations.

I hope you'll be able to join me at the Symposium on Wednesday!  It will be a fantastic day!

TV-20 Produces URCA CAS Spotlight Episode

Thank you to Ashland University's Department of Journalism and Digital Media for producing this excellent CAS Spotlight Episode featuring URCA, and a special thank you to Megan Wise for appearing on the episode to discuss the Symposium from a student's perspective!

The 2013 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 2013 URCA Symposium is available!  Click here to view and print the schedule.

The First Few Abstracts Are In!

Abstracts are starting to come in for the 2013 URCA Symposium!  The deadline is this Monday, January 28th at 5:00 p.m., so the Committee is anticipating a lot of emails this weekend with more submissions.  We are looking forward to reading your work!  As always, please feel free to email Dr. Bonfiglio at au.urca@gmail.com or dbonfigl@ashland.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

A Note from Diane Bonfiglio, URCA Director

I have found some of my greatest joys as a professor in the times that I have had the opportunity to work one-on-one with students on crafting abstracts for the URCA Symposium.  Ashland University students are doing some fantastic things.  It is a privilege to be able to do my small part to help those students communicate their work to their peers and professors.  This year I am excited to work with three bright and enthusiastic students, all of whom are now hard at work choosing just the right words to share the results of their research projects.  I know that all across the College of Arts and Sciences similar interactions are occurring.  I have heard students and faculty talking about the upcoming abstract deadline and planning submissions.  So though next week will be busy and students and professors alike may well be exhausted at the end, it will be that good kind of exhaustion that comes from hard work and the production of something special.  It is truly a gift to be able to share these experiences with students, and it is one of the many things that I adore about my job.

I am looking forward to reading all of the submissions to the Fourth Annual URCA Symposium.  Best wishes as you prepare!