Scholars Week 2023 set to launch May 15!
Scholars Week, an annual celebration showcasing the best of Western Washington University students’ research and creative works, kicks off May 15 with presentations through May 19.
The Scholars Week Planning Committee invites students, faculty, staff and visitors to attend week-long Scholars Showcase events that highlight student achievement and the significance of faculty and staff mentorship on student scholarship.
This year’s Scholars Showcase features the return of the Poster Session — the centerpiece event held in Carver Gym on Wednesday, May 17 — featuring outstanding scholarly research and creative works by graduate and undergraduate students across a wide range of disciplines. An opportunity to vote for your favorite undergraduate and/or graduate student poster will be available by in-person ballot voting for the People’s Choice Awards. Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) graduate student presentations, to be held Thursday, May 18, in SMATE Library, will feature three-minute talks designed to explain discipline-specific research to an unfamiliar audience. A new Scholars Showcase event this year, Creative Writing Presentations, will be held Thursday, May 18, in SMATE Library, featuring readings of original creative works in poetry, fiction and nonfiction by English Department MFA and MA candidates.
Scholars Week 2023 also includes the return of the Faculty/Student Group Collaborations, featuring a series of 30-minute presentations involving research, creative work or other academic projects stemming from work in the field, lab, studio or some other collaborative setting or arrangement. These presentations — ranging in topics from theatre styles and actors’ approaches, to issues of equity for Washington’s air quality — will be held in the Wilson Library Reading Room on Tuesday, May 16.
Associate Professor Maria McLeod, Scholars Week Planning Committee chair, said the committee is impressed both by the variety of presentations and the record number of more than 400 student Scholars Showcase participants in addition to students who are presenting in Scholars Week events hosted by colleges, departments and programs held across campus from May 15 – May 19.
“Western students are engaged in an inspirational and impressive array of research and creative projects that deserve to be seen, shared and celebrated,” McLeod said. “Scholars Week represents our cumulative and collective efforts as students, staff and faculty engaged in supporting scholarly pursuits — the ultimate celebratory event of the year.”
Scholars Week events will be held in person May 15 through May 19, including activities and events hosted by colleges, departments and programs throughout the university, many of which are listed on the Scholars Week website. For more information about Scholars Week, contact scholars.week@wwu.edu and see the entire slate of events on the image below.
Scholars Week, an annual celebration of student research and creative activities at Western, was created by a unanimous resolution of the Faculty Senate in November 1999 as “Scholars Day.” The event soon transformed into “Scholars Week” to accommodate a diverse series of events highlighting the scholarship and creativity of Western students across a variety of disciplines. The Scholars Week Planning Committee works in coordination with the Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs to hold Scholars Showcase events and activities. Financial support for Scholars Week is provided by the WWU President, Provost, Office of Undergraduate Education, Offices of Research and Sponsored Programs and the Graduate School, Foundation, and academic colleges and departments.
