More than 170 Illinois State University graduate students will
participate in the annual Graduate Research Symposium on Friday, March 30,
in the Bone Student Center. A university-wide showcase of student research,
scholarship and creative achievement, the Symposium will feature oral
presentations beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing through 1 p.m. in the
Founders Suite, Old Main Room, Circus Room and Spotlight Room. Poster and
multimedia presentations will be in the Brown Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m.
An opening ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the Brown Ballroom, with President Al Bowman, Rod Custer, associate vice president of Research, Graduate and International Education, and associate director of Graduate Studies Kimberly Nance providing a welcome. A student from each of the represented colleges will make a brief presentation about their research.
The Symposium encourages cross-disciplinary associations and focuses on communicating research to the general public. For the first time, close to 70 faculty members will provide oral and written feedback to student participants. Another feature of this year’s Symposium are two exhibits, Team Mercury Solar Car and Archeology Site in Ireland.
Some of the 120 topics graduate students researched are the following:
• What are the behavioral impacts of a free breakfast program?
• What type of client is likely to “elope” from adolescent substance abuse treatment centers?
• What factors affect how long it takes to get a college degree?
• How does gang membership affect the lives of African American females?
• Are fathers’ anti-social characteristics related to educational and delinquency problems for their children?
Other research projects include the perceptions of ethnic student leaders on diversity at a predominately white university, a comparison of youths placed in foster care prior to and after age 18 to determine who is more likely to enter the criminal justice system, effects of new equipment and technology on adolescents’ physical fitness scores and the effectiveness of virtual teams.
The Symposium, sponsored by the Graduate School, the Graduate Student Association, Research and Sponsored Programs, Honors Program and Milner Library, started 17 years ago to promote graduate student research.
