An annual exhibition of outstanding student work returns this week to Mary Baldwin University with a record number of student participants.
Capstone Festival 2012 will highlight student achievement across disciplines and includes papers, multimedia work, audio-visual sessions, and poster presentations.
“Capstone allows students to share their work with the larger community and for the community to be inspired by their work,” said Lydia Petersson, director of sponsored programs and undergraduate research at Mary Baldwin.
The student presentations are wide ranging: from Sarah Anne Barrow’s examination of L’affaire du Foulard to Jessica Hartzog’s sustainability appraisal of Tyson Foods, Inc. to Priyanka Nadar’s evaluation of estrogenic activity of the suspected endocrine-disrupting compound Triclosan. The Festival also gives perspective on the volume of meaningful work students are doing here at Mary Baldwin. For instance, Leighann Kimble is setting a Capstone record, having been nominated by faculty to exhibit senior projects in all three of her majors: anthropology/sociology, Asian studies, and international relations.
This year’s Festival includes more poster presentations than ever (14), which reflect the increasing strength of Mary Baldwin’s science program, and a record number of male presenters (two), who represent the diversity of the college’s Baldwin Online and Adult Programs.
During the 1800s at Mary Baldwin, all final examinations were held in public, and members of the board of trustees and townspeople attended. Today, Capstone underscores Mary Baldwin’s unique commitment to undergraduate research, which is required of each student, and it showcases the best efforts of the college’s top students.
The Festival begins at 12:30 p.m. in Hunt West with remarks from Mary Baldwin President Pamela Fox and a keynote address from Doenges Scholar-in-Residence Franchelle Dorn. Students will present their work starting at 1 p.m. in various locations around central campus. The day will conclude with a celebration reception at 5 p.m. and recognition of the top presentations at 5:45 p.m. For more detailed information on the day’s schedule, visit the Capstone Festival page on the college’s website.