Contact: stout@andrews.edu
Website:
Phone: 269-471-6361
We want the campus, especially the students, to realize how important the opportunities for students and faculty to grow as creative, productive scholars really are,” says John Stout, dean of research/creative scholarship. “We would like to ‘infect’ the Andrews University student/faculty community with a ‘bug’ that enhances creative scholarship/research /artistic expression in all its forms.”
All University students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the Celebration of Research/Creative Scholarship, on Thursday, April 2, from 4−7:30 p.m. in the Howard Performing Arts Center. Hosted by the Office of Research & Creative Scholarship, this first-of-its-kind event is designed to address the important roles research/creative scholarship play in the academic life of the University, the exceptional contributions of faculty members towards the mentoring of students as scholars and their future careers as well as the contributions made to the wider communities Andrews serves.
The idea to create a research demonstration of this kind has been circulating in the Office of Research & Creative Scholarship for some time. Through correspondence with different committees and key departments, plans for this year’s celebration were quickly put into place. Led by Stout, the event was created with the intent of starting an “epidemic” of interest and involvement in research studies on campus.
The event will take place in two parts, the first happening in the lobby of the Howard Performing Arts Center. Approximately 90 presentations, prepared by faculty research groups with the help of several graduate and undergraduate students, will fill the area from 4−6 p.m. These projects will include traditional and pedagogical research displays, preparations of scholarly books, artistic exhibits, posters and video presentations, etc. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore current research studies, meet with individual presenters and enjoy a light buffet supper provided by the Office of the Provost.
The second part of the celebration, hosted by Provost Heather Knight, will take place in the Howard Performing Arts Center auditorium from 6−7:30 p.m. Knight and President Niels-Erik Andreasen will speak about the important roles of research as it relates to student life, the University and community. This will be followed by a series of 10-minute presentations from some of the most productive faculty-led and mentored research groups across the University, some with graduate and undergraduate student involvement.
“Research/creative scholarship has provided students with the opportunity to develop their creative, analytical and communication skills by working one-on-one with a mentor who has already become successful and productive in his/her professional discipline,” says Stout. “Collectively, faculty who contribute in this way bring very important, added value to the impact of the University on our students, on their faculty colleagues and in very many ways contribute to the wider culture, opportunities and effectiveness of the ‘American Experience.’”