Newswise — Kansas City, MO – In honor of the U.S. House of Representatives declaring the week of April 11 “Undergraduate Research Week,” Rockhurst University will be joining higher education institutions nationwide to celebrate the achievements of undergraduate students in research, scholarship and creative activities.
This designation coincides with Rockhurst’s annual Festival of Student Achievement, an event honoring students’ academic accomplishments. In light of the federal designation and the planned activities, the Rockhurst University Faculty Senate went a step further and named the month of April “Student Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Month.”
Making these activities a special priority is important because they build critical thinking skills and collaborative relationships, said Zdenka Guadarrama, Ph.D., assistant professor of mathematics.
“Undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities are rich, student-driven academic experiences that take learning beyond the traditional classroom setting,” she said. “These experiences change students from passive learners to active participants in the process of creation.”
The month’s events begin with the Festival of Student Achievement April 6-8. Students will display posters describing their research projects on the first floor of the Science Center all week. An awards ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, in Mabee Theater, where students will be recognized with a variety of honors. At 6:30 p.m., on April 8, there will be an art exhibit and live student performances in Greenlease Gallery to conclude the festival.
The month’s activities will also feature two research seminars presented by Rockhurst students and “Science Friday” – a puzzle competition between teams of Rockhurst students.
Rockhurst University is one of 28 Catholic, Jesuit universities in the United States. It seeks to challenge students while providing a supportive environment for intellectual and personal growth. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Rockhurst among the top Midwest Master’s Universities and Forbes ranks it 131 on its America’s Best Colleges List. Rockhurst is the only institution in the Kansas City area to have earned the community engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research.
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