Students to present research, creative work during virtual Symposium of Artists & Scholars

Students gather during the 2019 Symposium of Artists & Scholars. The 2020 event will be virtual, with student presentations posted online Friday.

The Randolph College Symposium of Artists & Scholars will be held virtually this year, with presentations beginning Thursday.

The event, designed for students to show off their research and creative work, will be held online, but asynchronously, meaning videos of the presenters will be pre-recorded and posted at http://sas2020.go.randolphcollege.edu.

Randolph biology professor Doug Shedd will give the Symposium’s keynote talk, “Why Darwin Matters,” at 11 a.m. Thursday, to be followed by student presentations, posters, and exhibits, which will be posted at 11 a.m. Friday.

More than 50 students contributed work this year.

“An important part of most everything we do in teaching and learning is publically sharing it,” said Peter Sheldon, director of the Center for Student Research. “It is important to all of our academic development to share what we do and learn what others do. Sharing research is also a necessary step in the research process, and while it is sad that we cannot celebrate our students’ excellence in person, we still need to find ways to celebrate it.”

Sheldon is encouraging community members to tune into the talks, each of which will have a space where they can ask questions and offer feedback. Presenters will be notified when there is a question so they can respond.

The presentations are searchable and can be narrowed down by academic area or major.

“The Randolph College Symposium of Artists & Scholars helps us to recognize all of the awesome work our students have done in the last year,” Sheldon said, “but particularly helps us to recognize and show our pride in those graduating seniors and M.A.T. students who will be going on to do other things next year.”