Nearly 400 students will exhibit 500 projects during Wartburg College’s second annual Research, Internship and Creative Endeavor Day Thursday, April 11.
No classes will be held as the campus celebrates academic excellence, innovation and enterprise. Students will share posters of research projects, display art, air documentaries, perform and make presentations.
“Research, Internship, and Creative Endeavor Day showcases academic and co-curricular pursuits across disciplines,” President Darrel Colson said.
“This is an opportunity for Wartburg students to display the outstanding work they are doing across the disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, engineering, mathematics and computer science,” said Dr. Roy Ventullo, director of undergraduate research.
The public is invited to attend the various events, including the Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship Convocation in Neumann Auditorium at 10 a.m. Wartburg students are honoring Dr. Ed Westen, professor of biology, as recipient of the Chellevold Award for Excellence in Teaching and Professional Service; Dr. Roberta Bodensteiner, professor of education, Outstanding Advisor; and Mallory Luensmann, admissions counselor, Outstanding Staff.
Exhibits will be available at numerous sites, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The schedule is at www.wartburg.edu/rice/ and programs will be distributed on campus.
Students will be on hand to discuss their projects. Some of those will be:
- Spiritual Life and Campus Ministry — A video on students’ Davis Project for Peace effort to further education in Nepal.
- Music education — Presentations ranging from music education “building bridges” out of poverty to why music makes you smarter.
- Social work — Posters depicting work done with 16 area agencies.
- Inquiry studies — An examination of poverty issues.
- Modern languages — Presentations ranging from “Why tango matters in Argentina” to education programs in Latin America.
- Business administration — Presentations including “The economic effects of new professional baseball stadiums” and “Poetry and the arts in business.”
- History — Presentations on Benedict Arnold, Josef Stalin and “Lincoln’s view of slavery.”
- Social sciences — Poster sessions and presentations addressing such topics as “the role of worry” and “sleep” in academic achievement as well as sibling interaction and school anti-bullying programs.
- Scholars program — Presentations ranging from John Deere driving simulation to Wartburg’s carbon footprint.
- Religion — Presentations on the use of languages in church to “Good Samaritan or Bad Priest?”
- Research — Examinations of long-distance relationships, racial identification and skin-tone preferences, and drinking among college students.
- Political science — Public opinion on guns and violence after Sandy Hook.
- Communication arts — Videos dealing with energy and land management issues, human trafficking, malaria, hunger and veterans’ sacrifices.
In addition, music ensembles will have open rehearsals in Bachman Fine Arts Center, 4-6 p.m.; English and writing students will host an open mic session in McCaskey Lyceum, 7-9 p.m., and the various science disciplines will have an open house and poster session, Hall of Champions in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center, 7-9 p.m.