Clarion students join research conference

Staff report

Oil city, pa.

Thirty students and their faculty mentors participated in the 12th Annual Penn York Undergraduate Research Conference hosted by Clarion University- Venango Campus this month.

Chaired by Ellen Foster, associate professor of English and coordinator of the Venango Campus Honors Program, the conference included representatives from Houghton College and Hilbert College in New York, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and the Clarion and Venango campuses of Clarion University.

It is the first time that the conference was hosted by the Venango Campus, where undergraduate student research and scholarship is growing.

“It was so rewarding to offer students from northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York this opportunity to share their undergraduate research with other students and faculty,” Foster said. “For many, this is their first professional conference, and a great learning experience.”

Christopher Reber, executive dean of Venango Campus, agreed.

“It is truly an honor for our growing Honors Program, now in its fifth year, to host this outstanding annual regional event that highlights student research,” he said. “My colleagues and I salute the work of these students and their faculty advisors and congratulate them on their well-prepared research.”

Students delivered 22 oral presentations, with topics such as “Medical Alternatives to Blood Transfusions,” “Economic Voting in New Democracies: How Globalization Conditions Electoral Accountability” and “Tracing the Tunes: The Progression and Impact of Civil War Music in and After the War.”

Poster presentations explored a wide array of subjects.

The Honors Program at Clarion University-Venango Campus is a learning community geared toward academic achievement and scholarly pursuits. The program offers students the opportunity to expand intellectual capacities through stimulating coursework and out-of-classroom activities.