Editor's note: This blog post by Professor Lance Shultz is one of a series of posts written by Concordia University Ann Arbor professors to give a behind-the-scenes look into their academic program.
Did you know that there are twenty bachelor’s degree offerings in the School of Arts and Sciences alone? From art and music to biology and health and human performance, the range is vast and the options are plentiful.
Since students within the school of arts and sciences have projects and research that are unique from one another, the school is spearheading a new tradition that provides an opportunity for all students (not just those in arts and sciences) to display their projects to one another and the campus community.
Professor Lance Shultz shares a detailed perspective of a scholarship opportunity for students that has now become an annual tradition.
A new annual tradition: Concordia Student Scholars Expo
In May of 2019, Concordia University Ann Arbor held its first annual Concordia Student Scholars Expo in which 58 students presented culminating work to the wider Concordia community. Students from our nursing, education, biology, theology, English, psychology, and computer science departments were all represented. It was a fantastic day in which our students were able to demonstrate their accomplishments in a variety of scholarly activities.
The day was a wonderful blessing as we hit milestones in academics and advancement. In particular, our students in the theology department had to be moved to a larger venue as the audience grew to overwhelm the space that had been traditionally used. Further, students from our nursing program demonstrated their enacting of Concordia’s mission with their quality improvement projects that were carried out in their clinical sites around southeast Michigan. As a microbiologist, the student’s works on infection control in labor and delivery, emergency, and pediatric settings were the closest to my heart. However, other nursing students presented work that they had done on alternate pain management techniques, a timely and important topic given the nation’s well documented opioid overdose epidemic.
Seeing these students present was one of the highlights of my career and was a personal blessing.
In turning to the future, let me share with you a bit about this coming year’s event and the plans that are underway.
The second annual Concordia Student Scholars Expo will be hosted on Ann Arbor’s central campus on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. We are planning on dozens more students, from theology, education, psychology, and biology departments, sharing their scholarly work. Further, a student recipient of one of Concordia’s undergraduate research grants will also be updating the community on the progress of her research.
A poster session will be held in the Black Box Theater that day and will host a majority of the students presenting, but other sessions will be held in Krieger Hall throughout the day as well. While I can’t share all the specifics of the schedule just yet, I take this moment to invite you to save the date and consider attending this wonderful Expo and supporting our students as they prepare to enact the mission of our university.
Further information on the specifics and scheduling will be disseminated as we move closer to the event here on the CUAA blog and on Concordia’s events page. In the meantime, I ask that you pray for our students, faculty, and staff as we approach this occasion.
Learn more about CUAA’s school of arts and sciences or read more perspectives written by Concordia University Ann Arbor professors.
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