Five Arts and Humanities students were selected in December 2009 to represent Ohio State at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), held at the University of Montana, Missoula, from April 15-17. The conference, attended by over 2,600 undergraduate students from 300 universities around the world, expands students’ research horizons.

Student Chris Skovron said, “NCUR provided a valuable opportunity to gain experience in organizing, preparing, and delivering an academic conference presentation.” 

“Presenting at NCUR gave me the invaluable experience of presenting my work to other students involved in research and hailing from a variety of backgrounds,” Lindsay Nichols added.

The students found the conference experience not only stimulating and rewarding, but also a helpful to further developing their research projects. They present at sessions in poster, oral, or performance format, hear plenary lectures by prominent scholars, and discover possibilities for networking to develop their research.

“Seeing how people presented their research was really helpful. I saw what worked, and what didn’t,” said Sara Gange.

In addition to attending one another’s presentations, other sessions and events, and the Graduate Recruitment Fair attached to NCUR, the students enjoyed being in Missoula in springtime. They climbed Mt. Sentinel at the east end of campus to the “M” and hiked in the Rattlesnake wilderness near town, admired and rode on the carousel built by the community, browsed in local bookstores, ate huckleberry ice cream daily, and attended—and danced at—the statewide Kyi-Yo Pow-Wow held at the university.

Priyanka Mookerjee summed up the group’s experience saying, “Attending NCUR has been an absolutely exhilarating experience in terms of being able to immerse myself in academic and critical thinking in an intellectually charged atmosphere.”

Two students made poster presentations:

• Lindsay Nichols, an English major, on “’Home is Where One Starts From’: Space in Selected Poems of T.S. Eliot" [advisor: Prof. Brian McHale]; and,
• Dena Rapoport, a Hebrew and History of Art major, on “Vincent Smith: Identity in Collage in the 1970s” [advisor: Prof. Barbara Groseclose]. “On a social level, the trip connected me with other Ohio State students in allied disciplines who, like me, are going through the thesis-research process, which enabled us to offer one another much academic support.”

Three students presented 15-minute papers:

• Sarah Gange, a Comparative Studies & Russian major, on "A Review of Sustainable Tourism NGOs" [advisor: Prof. Morgan Liu];
• Priyanka Mookerjee, majoring in English/Creative Writing], on "Two-fer-one: A look at how narrative devices can shape two different audiences for The Namesake" [advisor: Prof. Brian McHale]; and,
• Chris Skovron, an English and Political Science major, on "Fictional Parliamentarians and the Rise of the Likable Legislator" [advisor: Prof. Alan Farmer].

NCUR is one of many ways in which Arts and Sciences is advancing its commitment to undergraduate research for both Honors and non-Honors students. In 2011, NCUR will be held at Ithaca College, and Arts and Sciences again looks forward to enthusiastic participation from undergraduate researchers.

The Arts and Humanities Dean’s Office funded the students, with additional support from University Honors and Scholars and three Eleanor Ruffing McMahon travel scholarships from the Arts and Sciences Honors Office. Julia Watson, Associate Dean for Recruitment and Diversity in Arts and Sciences and Professor of Comparative Studies, accompanied them.