Southern's community celebrated the richness of academic life here during Campus Research Day on December 4 as 222 students and five faculty members presented on a variety of topics in auditoriums and lecture halls. The one-day conference is in its third year as an interdisciplinary exercise for students looking to sharpen their skills and demonstrate to graduate schools and future employers an ability to seek out relevant data, analyze it effectively, and speak confidently about the findings.

For many students, the research shared represents a semester’s worth of work. That alone is impressive, but it’s more than simply a show and tell. Senior international business and international studies major Derek Haas used his paper, “Coffeehouse Culture in Early Modern England,” as a platform to practice public speaking outside the classroom setting and spent the remainder of Campus Research Day learning more about his friends’ expanding areas of expertise.

“We all say we’re busy during the year, but none of us actually know what the others are busy doing,” Haas said. “Today showed the results of those long hours spent researching.”

This was the third year Southern hosted such an event, and the first time it was open for faculty to join. Participating professors included: Nivischi Edwards, PhD, (School of Education, Psychology, and Counseling); Sonja Fordham, PhD (McKee Library); Luceta McRoy, PhD (School of Business); Christine Moniyung, PhD (School of Nursing), and Philip Samaan, DMin (School of Religion).

Campus Research Day’s complete schedule of fall presentations can be found online.

In related news, McKee Library recently launched its new research portal, a Tumblr account that is part of the library's social media presence. Librarians are posting short research stories each week and people can "follow" this page to receive updates as new stories are added.

These are just two examples of Southern’s commitment to academic excellence and the preparation of its students for success in career, church, and community.