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Student Research and Creative Arts Symposium to Showcase “Community Working Together”

04/12/2017

The community will soon have a chance to witness the progress of William Penn University students’ talents and academic findings during the Student Research and Creative Arts Symposium on Thursday, April 20 in the Penn Activity Center.

The SRCAS is held each year as a way to highlight educational achievement in a fun and engaging manner. This year’s symposium will feature several related events operating under the common theme, “Community Working Together”. Attendees will see first-hand what practicum students in the following areas of study have researched this semester: APCS, Biology, Business, Exercise Science, Fine Arts, Human Services, Nursing, Psychology, and Sociology.

“This is an excellent opportunity for our students to show off their academic prowess,” said Dr. James North, William Penn University Professor of Biochemistry.  “I’m constantly pleased with the results that the students showcase during the symposium. Some of the research is surprising and incredible while other research reinforces basic scientific principles.”

While the showcase itself will take place from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on the PAC basketball courts, the show isn’t over for the community once the posters come down. From 1 – 3 p.m., Assistant Professor of Mathematics Breanne Garrett will host a Math Fun Day for excited learners in the community. From 3 – 4 p.m., symposium keynote speaker Patrick Johanns will lecture in the Ware Auditorium, located on the third floor of the PAC. During his lecture at WPU, he will share how a class he taught worked with the non-profit, Integrated Community Development International (ICDI), to help them better serve the need for safe drinking water in the Central African Republic (CAR).  The talk will explore the mission and challenges facing this organization’s efforts to help the people of CAR, the role of quantitative analysis in making good business decisions, the process his students followed in evaluating ICDI’s operations, and finally, how everyone gained from this experience. After the lecture, a first-time performance called Fringe Festival will also take place in the PAC, showcasing students, faculty, and staff.


About the Speaker

Johanns is on the faculty of the Tippie School of Management in Iowa City, Iowa where he teaches a wide range of operations management and business analytics courses.  He has a BS in Microbiology, an MBA, and a PhD in Operations Management, all from the University of Iowa.  His academic life took him to the Melbourne Business School in Australia, the German International School of Management and Administration (GISMA) in Germany, and Purdue University on a 19-year journey before returning him to the University of Iowa.  He is the author of a textbook in Management Science.  With a passion for making real problems a part of the educational experience and giving his students a chance to apply their education to helping organizations, he opened his classroom to Water for Good and the Purdue Alumni Association working with the students on problems in operations management and business analytics. Johanns and his wife have three children ranging in age from seven to 24.  As there is more to life than work, Johanns is an avid board gamer who took second place in the Australian National Board Game Championships in 2014.

 

For more information, contact:

Hailey Brown
Communications/Event Coordinator
William Penn University
(641) 673-1078 | brownhe@wmpenn.edu

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