Graduate research on campus is on the rise, and a record number of applications for the 23rd annual Graduate Student Senate Colloquium is a strong indication.

Ten years ago, the colloquium attracted about 10 graduate presenters, colloquium chair Aron Massey said.

“The event gets bigger each year,” Massey said. “This year the colloquium will have more than 29 presenters, in a variety of areas and at least 12 poster presentations.”

Schedule of events 10 -11 a.m., Morning Paper Sessions – KSC • Rethinking Education – KSC 318 • The Sciences – KSC Room 317 • Articulation of Artistry – KSC Room 304 • Investigations in Politics – KSC room 302 11 a.m. – noon, Morning Panel Session – Kent State Research Centers – KIVA • Center for Applied Conflict Management, Water Resources Research Institute, Center for Communication Research Noon – 1 p.m., Lunch / Poster Sessions – KSC Room 306 1 – 2 p.m., Afternoon Paper Sessions • Marketing – KSC Room 317 • Contemporary Issues in Law, Life and Liberty – KSC Room 302 • Rights, Radicalism and Revolution – KSC Room 318 • Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems – KSC Room 304 2 – 3 p.m., Afternoon Panel Session – The Greening of Kent – KIVA • Kent State University Environment and Operations, Kent State Recycling, Kent State Dept. of Geography, City of Kent 3 – 4 p.m., Colloquium Keynote Speaker – KIVA • Dr. Samuel Totten: Genocide in Africa

According to Edward Moreira, chair for GSS, the colloquium is the main event for GSS.

“We bring together hundreds of people with different interests and backgrounds,” Moreira said, “and we have them interact for one day.”

In addition, the colloquium also brings in world-renowned keynote speakers and gets different departments involved – not just the students, but also professors and the administration, Moreira added.

The theme for tomorrow’s colloquium, “Uniting Scholarship and Activism,” supports social changes toward activism.

Massey chose the activism theme partly because of a personal interest and because it is of interest to graduate students.

“Many graduate students are actively involved in changing the communities around them,” Massey said. “I thought it would be good to see how that takes place on the Kent campus and more broadly in academia.”

The keynote speaker for the 23rd Annual Colloquium is Samuel Totten, a professor at the University of Arkansas and specialist on the issues of genocide.

He is an activist in Darfur.

The attraction of the colloquium for undergraduate students, according to Stephan Woods, vice-chair of GSS, is to see what graduate students do, how they do it, and to learn more about the area of their special interests.

Moreira sees the colloquium as an opportunity for students to peek outside their own discipline and foster a multidisciplinary environment where new ideas may arise.

Contact graduate offices reporter Stacy Rhea at [email protected].