This week marked Scholars Week at Murray State. It serves as an annual celebration of student research, scholarly presentations and creative works.
This weeklong event includes a wide array of academic disciplines spanning the spectrum of University life through posters, oral presentations and performances. Any undergraduate or graduate that has done a faculty-mentored project may submit their work and participate in Scholars Week.
“Scholars Week is an opportunity for students to showcase the work they have been doing with a faculty mentor to the university community in general,” Jody Cofer, Academic Program Specialist, said.
It gives presenters the opportunity to stand before their peers and practice their presentation skills, while also serving as an item to list on their resumes, he said. It’s common for tough questions to get posed during these sessions and sometimes they can be answered and sometimes they cannot.
“Most of these students have such an understanding of what they have been working on that by the time they reach Scholars Week, they are ready,” Cofer said.
One of the many events that take place during Scholars Week is the Senior Colloquium of the Department of Modern Languages. This particular event is part of International Education Week in the fall semesters and Scholars Week in the spring semesters.
Senior Colloquium gives the students the opportunity to present an English summary of the research paper they have written in the language they are studying. Students work with a project advisor to guide them in their topic and writing process.
The research paper and the oral presentation are the main components of the MLA 400 Senior Capstone course offered each semester.
“I was very pleased with the presentations this semester,” professor of Humanities and Fine Arts, Meg Brown said. “The topics ranged from Old World-New World and dual perspectives on Indians, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba to analyses of the arts and literature in Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany. The students really explained their topics well.”
Don Robertson, vice president of Student Services, said that students who obtain academic achievement deserve recognition for their hard work and Scholars Week is one of the most prestigious ways to recognize them.
“The heart of what the university is all about is academics and academic excellence,” Robertson said. “This is the chance to highlight that and to honor those students that have done significant scholarly work. It’s an important tradition at the university, it’s one of the most important weeks of the year.”