Randolph College will hold its first artists and scholars symposium this spring. The event, to be held the weekend of April 25–26, will showcase the exceptional work of the College’s students across all academic disciplines. Any Randolph student with a senior, honors, or summer research project, or any other scholarly or creative project, is eligible to participate.

The Randolph College Symposium of Artists and Scholars: Celebrating Student Excellence will be an opportunity for students of all classes to share their research and/or creative work with a wide audience of campus and community members. The symposium is being funded by the Betty Jo Denton Heick Symposium Fund.

Formats of the sessions will be varied, including individual student talks, arts presentations and performances, student panels, and a visual arts exhibition. Also there will be a poster session—visual presentations of a student’s work—with students standing by their posters to answer questions about their research.

The Senior Students’ Art Exhibition, showing the creative products of senior art majors, will be featured at the Maier Museum of Art.

The symposium will begin with a keynote address. Francine (Frankie) L. Trull, who attended R-MWC from 1968–1970, will deliver the keynote address, speaking about preparation for professional careers. Trull is the founder and president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research, dedicated to advancing human and animal health by promoting public understanding of the responsible use of animals in medical and scientific research.

She also founded and heads Policy Directions Inc., a Washington, D.C. firm that represents private and nonprofit organizations in shaping legislation and policy development. A frequent guest speaker across the country, Trull has been honored by the Society for Neuroscience and received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Endocrine Society.

Naomi Amos, director of corporate and foundation relations and a member of the Advisory Committee for the symposium, is excited to see the symposium initiated at the College.

Says Amos, “As a national councilor in the organization Council of Undergraduate Research, I have seen the excitement generated by a campus-wide symposium at other colleges. Students are able to share the results of their hard work, and audiences are both enriched and inspired by the quality of student scholarship and creativity. I’m thrilled for all of us at the College.”

Randolph College’s symposium will be open to the greater Lynchburg community and will be advertised in local and regional media. A printed program with all student abstracts will be distributed.

For further information, go to www.randolphcollege.edu/sas