College of Letters and Science: Research symposium highlight of year
The Pointer
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An abundance of change, including new faculty and programs, brings new light upon the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point this year.
The CLS has instituted new programs and kept tradition going this semester and into the next. The first change made was in July, 2008, when Lance Grahn, former dean of the college, accepted a job at the University of Central Arkansas as vice president of Academic Affairs. Currently filling Grahn’s position as interim dean is Charles Clark. Clark has been a member of the UW-SP faculty since 1993.
The 10th annual CLS Undergraduate Research Symposium on Friday, Apr. 29, displayed student work and research from within the department.
“We typically have approximately 70 presentations,” said Clark. Every discipline, especially the sciences, were well represented. Over 100 students were involved.
Standing in front of their display posters, these UW-SP undergrads answered questions from passersby.
Questions were asked on a vast array of subjects pertaining to biology and geography, among others.
A study on herpetology in the Amazon basin of Peru allowed Brooke Johnson to discover hands- on the richness and abundance of six species of frogs. Herpetology consists of biological studies of reptiles and amphibians.
“I’ve kind of decided I want to live down there,” Johnson said about her Peru adventures. “My passion has always been frogs.”
Johnson and three other students presented their biological findings from Peru at the symposium. Their research mentor, biology professor Erik Wild, led the students on their studies abroad.
Johnson hopes to set up some local studies to compare urban and rural habitats.
“I’m excited to make a career out of it,” she said.
Another poster displayed the geography of the Mississippi Delta in relation to the impact it’s had on blues musicians. The Delta, which has been known as the origin of the blues, has planted its cultural roots in this music scene along with the cotton plantations that first began in this region over a hundred years ago.
“It’s their biggest source of pride,” said presenter Joseph Richards on the impact blues music has had on the Delta society.
Students Tony Piazza and Richards did their research on this project while enrolled in a geography course titled “The land where the blues began.” They traveled to Mississippi over spring break, led by Lisa Theo, with approximately 18 students from UW-SP and others from UW-Eau Claire.
“It was a huge culture shock,” said Piazza. “The poverty level in the Delta region is unbelievable.”
Their studies were able to illustrate how this region initiated a growth of blues music across the rest of the country through interpreting the chronological and location of musician’s birthplaces like Muddy Waters.
The Community and Campus Lecture Series is another addition to the CLS that has taken root this year. The series is a number of lectures open to students and community members. Subjects of the lectures ranged from fieldwork in anthropology to bioacoustics.
“My hope is this is a series that will continue on,” said Clark.
The lectures have had varied attendance from as few as 15 to as many as 50.
