By Abigail Vannatta, Staff Writer
About 130 Newman students will present projects for Scholars Day on May 8 as a part of a capstone required for graduation.
But what is Scholars Day?
Offered as a zero-credit capstone course each semester for juniors and seniors, Scholars Day gives students the opportunity to present projects they have already completed in upper-level classes. Students have the option to choose between an oral presentation, a poster presentation or another approved format to share their work.
Greg Smith, professor of psychology and the chair of the Scholars Day committee, said the idea began in 2010 when he was in conversations with former associate professor of accountancy George Smith.
“Dr. George Smith and I were reading about innovative academic programs across the country, and we thought that presenting student research in an annual Scholars Day would be a powerful way to contribute to a culture of scholarship on campus,” he said.
The event officially began in 2013 as a part of the Newman Studies Program. While the original idea of Scholars Day was focused on interdisciplinary work within that program, its purpose has evolved to encompass more students.
“It also expanded to include other professional presentations, such as research, musical, theater and artistic performances,” Smith said.
Smith has been the primary coordinator for the event and course for the last two years. Associate professor of education Huachuan Wen previously headed the event from 2020-2021, part of which was over Zoom due to COVID-19.
Although he stepped down as chair of the Scholars Day committee for other teaching duties, Wen still tries to attend Scholars Day to assess student projects.
“What I also enjoy includes the advising and assessing students' presentations,” he said. “Appreciating and learning from our students' presentations makes me feel fulfilled and heartily proud of them. It is a celebration of their academic accomplishments.”
What the course looks like
After choosing what previous assignment they would like to present, students must meet with a professor or advisor to oversee the project and help choose the method of presenting.
Presentations are graded on a pass/fail basis. Faculty and staff are able to volunteer to attend student presentations.
“The only way to fail is not to do it,” Smith said. “Hopefully, this makes the presentations high quality but low stress.”
Students presenting posters are given guidelines outlining what they should look like and can attend a workshop to get all the details. Those giving oral presentations have 10 minutes to present, with a five-minute window for questions afterward.
Although Scholars Day is a graduation requirement, Newman is starting to discuss possible changes.
“About a dozen faculty and staff are starting now to look to the future, to talk about how we might alter, expand and improve Scholars Day, maybe even bringing in speakers, giving student awards and reaching out to people beyond campus,” Smith said.
Scholars Day plays an important role on campus for three reasons, Smith said.
“...First, it helps create a culture of research and scholarship on campus,” he said. “Second, it is a celebration of the work that students do… Thirdly, it contributes to building portfolios or writing grad school applications.”
He said that presenting scholarly work as an undergraduate is not standard practice nationwide and can help Newman students stand out.
Smith encourages students, faculty and staff to attend Scholars Day and support the students giving their presentations.
“It’s actually pretty impressive to see what our students are doing in their different fields,” he said. “If you attend, you will see that it feels a lot like a celebration, and it’s just interesting and a lot of fun.”
Scholars Day presentations run from 9 a.m to noon on May 8. Oral presentations will be given in the classrooms of the Bishop Gerber Science Center, and posters will be displayed in the hallways. Any performances will be in the Jabara Black Box Theater in De Mattias Hall.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Unsplash
