The Graduate Student Senate will host the 31st annual Graduate Research Symposium, the largest annual research event at Kent State, this Friday on the second and third floors of the Kent State Student Center (KSC).

“Conference presentation experience is very important for all graduate student’s growth and development,” said Kyle Reynolds, director of Student Services for the Division of Graduate Studies. “Having a venue like the Symposium at Kent State to give all graduate students an opportunity to hone their presentation skills, gain valuable peer feedback and share their research with an interdisciplinary audience, is a wonderful resource for graduate students.”

The Symposium, according to the Graduate Studies website, will feature poster displays and oral presentations by students from various disciplines. Both faculty and graduate students will serve as judges for presentations sharing similar themes or areas of studies.

An awards luncheon, which features a keynote address by Dr. Paul DiCorleto, the Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs at Kent State and presentations of awards to exemplary research, will conclude the Symposium.

The first stage of oral presentation will begin at 9 a.m. on the third floor of the KSC and go until 10:15 a.m. Poster presentations will follow from 10:20 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on the second floor and ballroom. The second stage of oral presentations will take place from 11:35 a.m. until 12:50 a.m. and the Symposium will culminate with the awards luncheon from 1 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Melody Tankersley, the interim dean for the Division of Graduate Studies, said Kent State offers a unique opportunity through the Research Symposium for students to grow as scholars.

“Well-conducted research and creative expression is vital to the development and progress of any field,” Tankersley said.“Not only must scholars be able to conduct and interpret their original work, they must be able to communicate their discoveries and the implications of those findings to others.”

Andrew Keiper is the graduate studies reporter for The Kent Stater, contact him at [email protected].