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At 51����, learning often extends beyond the classroom walls.  Sometimes, beyond state lines.

Ten 51���� students will present their scholarship and research at the three-day National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) event at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, April 15-17. 

The students will be joined by Tom Balonek, professor of physics and astronomy; Carol Kinne, associate professor of art and art history; Robert McVaugh, associate professor of art and art history; and Linn Underhill, assistant professor of art and art history.

NCUR celebrates the research and scholarship current undergraduates have done in collaboration with faculty or other mentors.  Thousands of students from colleges and universities across the country gather at the three-day forum to present their work to the public, as well as attend parallel lectures and discussions in topics spanning the natural and social sciences, the arts, and humanities.

Students had to submit an abstract detailing their work to NCUR in November, and their work was reviewed by a committee. Students must give a 20-minute speech or offer a presentation detailing their work.

All of the 51���� students who applied were accepted. Many students stayed at 51���� over the course of a summer to begin or continue research that spawned from work in a particular class.

“51���� students do very well at NCUR.  We do a good job here teaching students how to present their work in an enjoyable context, but one that’s informative.  The projects students do here are real research projects.  We fare better than many other universities,” said Balonek.

The conference is not discipline-specific and often serves as a vehicle for further research in the non-sciences, he said.

“Students get to see the types of things others around the country are doing.  They get ideas and see how their work fits into a larger context.  And for faculty, it’s a chance to get to know students we wouldn’t ordinarily see in our discipline,” he said.

 McVaugh – who has attended the conference many times and is on the NCUR council – agrees.

“It is extremely valuable for students to encounter excellent research practice in areas which are not their own.  It helps them to position themselves in a wider framework of scholarship,” he said.

Lindsey Brandolini ‘05, a political science major from Clifton, Va., is presenting her research on residential services for the mentally handicapped.  Her research, she says, resulted from an independent study she completed over the summer with professor of political science Michael Hayes.

Brandolini’s sister is mentally retarded, and will soon need to be placed in residential services.  The wait list in Virginia is incredibly long, Brandolini said, and any policy changes concerning residential services have come very slowly over the years.  Her sister’s situation prompted Brandolini to think more broadly about the current status of residential services, factors contributing to the situation, and what the alternatives might be.

“There are no real classes that address my issue, which is why I wanted to do this paper.  I thought it would be an interesting way to bring something new to the table and raise awareness,” she said.

Hayes’s own research focuses on issues of dramaturgical incrementalism, which states that because people can’t agree on what the best way to move forward with policy change is, effecting any change becomes a very slow process.  Brandolini’s research spawned from Hayes’ work.

“It was interesting to tie it into his work.  He just said ‘Hey, why don’t you read my book.  You might be able to find what you’re looking for.’  I read it and found out it really began to answer my question of why this (changes in residential services) is moving so slowly.”

Hayes alerted Brandolini to the NCUR conference.  She will present a PowerPoint presentation at the conference.  She is also trying to get her larger paper published through NCUR.

Brandolini volunteers with the Hamilton Fire Department and is the supervisor of the 51���� First Response Squad, a group of 15 students that is on medical standby for club and intramural sports events.

“I like doing things that are focused on the community and other people, and helping those that can’t always help themselves,” she said.

Deborah Karpman ‘05, a studio art major, is presenting her work titled “Observation Reversed: Transforming the Viewer into the ‘Viewed’ Through Figurative Portraits.”  Karpman will present two of her paintings and show slides of the other paintings in the series.

Karpman is trying to manipulate the historical view of portraiture as a “passive entity that people evaluate” using scale, color, and realism. Most of her portraits are 4 feet by 4 feet, and are close-up, intimate head-shots of friends, family, and her.

Karpman has always been interested in figurative work, and started painting before high school.  She was fairly certain she would end up a studio art major at 51����.

“I looked at art school and thought it would be too narrow.  I wanted a broader education.  Since 51���� is a small school, I’ve gotten a lot more personal attention, and it’s worked out really well,” she said.

Karpman plans to attend graduate school for studio art.

She began the series the summer after her first year, and most of the paintings were completed during her sophomore year under the guidance of associate professor of art and art history Lynette Stephenson. 

Karpman received a grant to stay on campus this summer to continue her work.  She wants to bring narrative into her work, or add other dimensions.

“The project is kind of open.  Maybe it will eventually transform into something different.  With each (painting), I hope there’s something new and different so I’m not just rehashing the same thing.”

She is presenting two images at the conference.  “Esther” is a portrait of her grandmother; the other, “Doug,” is a portrait of a friend at 51����.

“I’m excited about the conference.  I’m not too nervous, but maybe I should be!  I’ve written about the work and talked about it enough, that I feel pretty comfortable explaining it,” she said, typifying how the 51���� representatives feel about their upcoming trip, which was fully funded by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.

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Jess Buchsbaum
Office of Communications and Public Relations
315.228.6637