Honors Students Invited to Present at GPHC Conference

Honors College students are invited to propose a poster or oral presentation at the Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC) Conference, to be held on Friday-Sunday, April 8-10, 2016, at John Brown University, in the beautiful Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas.

The conference theme is “The Entrepreneurial Spirit,” although presentations are not limited to that topic. Undergraduate research in all disciplines may be submitted for consideration. If you have an undergraduate research project or senior honors thesis completed or in progress, please consider submitting a proposal!

Up to ten Honors College students with proposals accepted for presentation will have their travel expenses, accommodation, and conference registration paid by the Honors College. We will drive down together on Friday morning and return on Sunday afternoon. Visit the GPHC Conference web page for information about the conference schedule, which includes local excursions on Saturday afternoon.

GPHC proposals are due to Dean Jim McKusick by Monday, January 25, 2016. We welcome solo and multiple-authored research presentations, provided that all of the co-presenters are Honors College students. In your proposal, please indicate your presentation type, which may be a Poster Presentation (click here for poster presentation guidelines) or an Oral Presentation (click here for oral presentation guidelines). Your proposal should include the following information:

  • Name(s) of all student presenter(s);
  • Name and department of your faculty research mentor;
  • Contact information for the primary student presenter (your address, phone, email);
  • Number of college credit hours completed to date by the student presenter;
  • Presentation title,
  • 100-word poster abstract or 250-word oral presentation abstract, and
  • 50-word short description (intended for publication in the conference program).
  • Optional: In addition to the information noted above, poster presenters are encouraged to submit a PDF file of your poster, and oral presenters are encouraged to submit an MS Word file of your research paper (maximum 7000 words), if you wish to be eligible for a conference presentation award.

To submit a proposal, please e-mail the requested information to Dean Jim McKusick by Monday, January 25 (or sooner if possible). If you’d like to meet with Dean Jim to discuss your presentation and learn more about the conference, please contact Nicole Fickel to set up an appointment: 816-235-2182.

No matter what your field of study, we hope you will consider presenting your research at the GPHC Conference. It will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase UMKC’s excellence in undergraduate research, network with honors students at other institutions, visit the scenic Ozarks, and gain valuable conference presentation experience!

Contact: mckusickj@umkc.edu with the subject line “GPHC Conference Proposal.” Questions? Contact Nicole Fickel, 816-235-2182.

Honors College Celebrates First Graduates

The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s 2015 mid-year commencement marked a momentous achievement for the Honors College: its first class of graduates.

The honors experience at UMKC transitioned from program to freestanding academic unit in the summer of 2015 and has since celebrated accomplishments in growth and status, the commencement of the inaugural class of Honors College graduates being among the most distinguished.

The commencement recognized seven honors students, five of which completed their studies with the designations of both University Honors and Honors Scholar, from across the spectrum.

A&S Graduation 12.19.2015
Pictured left to right: Chelsy Scherba, Sara Platt, Juan Jose Bettancourt-Garcia, Austin Hoffman
Not pictured: Emily McMichael, Chelsea Mouse, Stella Yee

Graduates at a Glance

Click on each graduate’s name for their academic bios.

 

Written by Chelsea Wheeler, Honors College Student Assistant