Next spring, The University of Southern Maine will hold its first student research, scholarship and creativity symposium called “Thinking Matters” on the Portland campus. This will be an annual event where students from all academic disciplines can present and receive feedback on papers or posters.
Students can present research based on classroom work, independent studies, internships, student teaching and clinicals. “We are drawing on the important work and precedent of the Provost’s Poster Day. The Thinking Matters conference expands on that initiative, creating a space for oral presentations, as well as student posters,” said Jan Thompson, “Thinking Matters” committee member. Poster Day began in 2001 and allowed students to present their work to the University in much the same way the “Thinking Matters” conference intends.
Scot Goodwin, one of the co-directors of Thinking Matters, said the conference was developed because of a need for graduate and undergraduate students to be able to present their work to a diverse audience and receive feedback on it. It also allows USM students to show the community the important work that they are doing.
Adam Tuchinsky, another a co-director of “Thinking Matters” said, “With the two campuses and the number of commuter students … education at USM can be a ‘drive through’ experience.” This is an opportunity for “building community at USM, cultivating its intellectual climate, and facilitating more faculty-student interaction”
Submissions will be selected and grouped into disciplinary and interdisciplinary sessions. Students will present their work to an audience of faculty, students and community members, followed by a discussion and question period. Students can present their work orally or in poster form. Oral presentations will be grouped into panels based on topic or discipline and will have 15 to 20 minutes each to present. Poster presentations will be on display throughout the day with a scheduled time for discussion with the author. Studio arts presentations are also encouraged.
“This effort is strongly supported by the provost, president and other administrators, in part because there is strong leadership coming from the grassroots level (in particular Scot and other USM students),” said Sharon Locke, coordinator of Undergraduate Research Initiatives and committee member.
Students interested in presenting their work should find a USM faculty mentor to sponsor their presentation. A faculty mentor ensures follow through by the student and acts as a guide throughout the project stages. Students then need to submit an abstract, which is a summary of their project. Students can submit abstracts on-line at research.usm.maine.edu/thinkingmatters. Early submission should be done by Dec. 15, 2003, or by the final deadline, Mar. 5, 2004. The conference is scheduled for Apr. 22 to 23, 2004.
The Thinking Matters conference is coordinated by a conference program committee, which includes Scot Goodwin, a USM undergraduate student and staff member; Adam Tuchinsky from history department; Pat Fin, USM graduate student and staff member; Sharon Locke, coordinator of Undergraduate Research Initiatives; Chris O’Connor, assistant to the Dean of Student Life; and Jan Thompson, professor, College of Nursing and Health Professions and director of Honors Program.
Molly Lovell can be contacted at [email protected].