Georgia State University Research Symposium
The Georgia State University chapter of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program held its first research symposium on Friday, September 12, 2008. The purpose of the symposium was to give McNair Scholars at GSU and programs throughout the southeastern region and beyond an opportunity to present their research in an academic conference setting. There were scholars from 10 different institutions including Georgia State University represented at the symposium. The scholars came from schools as far north as the University of Cincinnati; as far south as the University of South Florida; and as far west as the University of Alabama.
The morning started with a welcome from Mr. Curtis Byrd, Director of the McNair Program at Georgia State University. Shortly thereafter the Symposium kicked into high gear with the poster presentations. There were seventeen posters presented. The posters addressed issues ranging from the Autism epidemic to the low numbers of African American in managerial positions in corporate American. The observers of the posters were given the chance to evaluate the presenters in an effort to give feedback to participating scholars.
During lunch a panel of graduate recruiters discussed the do’s and don’ts of preparing to enter a graduate program. The panel was headed by Tomalei Vess of Duke University, and included Kharen Fulton of Emory University, Brett Locklear of NC State University, Dr. George Robbins of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Kedrick Perry of University of Virginia. The panel engaged the audience by detailing personal accounts of their educational journey. The panel touched on issues such as funding for a graduate education and the application process. For example, the panel told the scholars that institutions should be paying them to get a Ph.D. and not the other was around. It was apparent that after the panel the scholars felt more prepared to tackle the requirements needed to enter into a graduate program.
The oral presentations were held after lunch but the scholars showed no signs of slowing down. There were thirty-nine oral presenters. The oral presentations addressed issues ranging from the portrayal of African Americans in the media to the U.S. involvement in the crisis in Dafur. All of the oral presentations were informative and relevant to the issues facing the world today.
The oral presentations had gotten the scholars hungry again. The scholars and the graduate recruiters partook in a graduate dinner. At the dinner the scholars were seated by disciplines and the recruiters were also seated at the tables based on their areas of expertise. The recruiters were able to talk to the students on a more personal level during the dinner. The recruiters told the scholars exactly what their graduate programs expected when they were considering admitting applicants and they also told them what they needed to do to meet those expectations.
The headline of the night came after dinner when Dr. Robert L. Belle, Jr. delivered the keynote speech. Dr. Belle is the Director of the SREB-AGEP Doctoral Scholars Program and for many years has been a champion for the McNair Program as well as the other TRIO programs. Dr. Belle informed the scholars about the storm that is taking place in our society today. He insisted that it is going to take savvy, intelligent people to help our society weather the storm. He ended his speech by giving each scholar a charge to go on and obtain a Doctoral degree so they can be instrumental in weathering the storm.