Heidelberg University is preparing to celebrate academic inquiry with several events in February designed to showcase student and faculty research.
Noted theologian Rev. Dr. Martin Marty of the University of Chicago will be the keynote speaker during the 2012 Student Research Conference Feb. 16 on campus. “Discovery is Our Business” will be the theme of the address from one of the most prominent interpreters of religion and culture today.
Marty, an author of more than 60 books, also is a speaker, columnist, pastor and teacher, having served as professor of religious history at the University of Chicago for 35 years. He is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where the Martin Marty Center for advanced studies has been founded.
Incidentally, Marty will be returning to Heidelberg, last visiting 50 years ago as a convocation speaker. He has served as a columnist and senior editor at The Christian Century for decades. A Lutheran pastor ordained in 1952, he served parishes in Chicago for 10 years before joining the faculty at the University of Chicago. He is past president and director of several associations, institutions and projects, including the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History and the American Catholic Historical Association. Additionally, Marty has served on two U.S. presidential commissions and is a senior regent of St. Olaf College, having served the college in that capacity since 1988.
Following his keynote address, Marty will join student presenters and their faculty mentors/sponsors for lunch.
The Student Research Conference, held annually, allows Heidelberg students and peers from other colleges and universities to enhance their experience with academic research and scholarship. Students experience the conference format by presenting their research in a professional setting.
Papers and projects from an array of academic disciplines are presented during the conference.
The best papers compete for the Ernest and Martha Hammel Research Award. Prizes include $500 for the best paper, $250 for second place and $100 for third place.
Complementing the Student Research Conference on Feb. 2 will be the annual Faculty Research Symposium. The event enables the campus community to hear about faculty research activities. In addition, faculty members model presentation techniques in various disciplines so that student presenters can incorporate the techniques into their own performances.
This year’s presenters include:
- Dr. Rem Confesor – “Modeling Pollutant Exports from Lake Erie Watersheds”
- Chris Tucci – “Playing the Part, Playing the Madness”
- Dr. Leslie Haley Wasserman – “The Twice Exceptional Learner”
- Dr. John Bing – “Retention at Heidelberg University”
- Dr. Courtney DeMayo – “The Theory and Practice of Education in Medieval Cathedral Schools”
- Dr. Ken Krieger – “Heidelberg’s National Center for Water Quality Research: History and Current Programs”
- Dr. Daryl Close – “Faculty Productivity”
- Dr. Kristen Williams – “From Aspirations to Access: An Exploration of the Facilitators of and Barriers to Postsecondary Education Attendance”
- Dr. Marc O’Reilly – “Recalibrating: American Policy toward the Middle East in the Wake of the Arab Spring and the U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq”
- Dr. April Beisaw – “Native American Hip Hop: Traditional Storytelling for Contemporary Youth”
- Dr. Kylee Spencer – “Genetic Variation Associated with Age at Menarche in an African-American Cohort”
- Dr. Doug McConnell – “ ‘… for I don’t want to run this race in vain’: Going the Distance in Composing/Performing a Large Work.”