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The Research & Scholarship Conference at Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵapp is made up of the Undergraduate Exposition, the Graduate Research Symposium, and the Faculty Scholarship Celebration. This showcase academic event is hosted by The Office of the Provost, The Graduate School and Research, and the Brinson Honors College.

The Undergraduate Research Exposition & The Graduate Research Symposium, part of WCU’s campus-wide Research and Scholarship Conference, provides students with the opportunity to work with faculty to present their research to an engaged audience on campus. 

All undergraduate and graduate students, from any discipline, engaged in scholarly inquiry, creative projects, or research are welcome to register for this event!

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REGISTRATION: Undergraduate Exposition

GRADUATE STUDENT REGISTRATION:  Graduate Research Symposium

Important Dates:

November 22, 2024: Registration opens for the Undergraduate Exposition and Graduate Research Symposium.

February 17, 2025: Registration closes.

February 17 - March 10, 2025: Digital upload period for registrants entering the graduate poster competition (separate instructions to be provided to registrants via catamount email).

March 19, 2025 (events open to campus and the public): Undergraduate and Graduate Oral & Performance presentations at the A.K. Hinds University Center, the Prelminary Faculty 3MR, RASC Keynote Address, and the Annual Undergrad Expo & Grad Research Symposium's Poster & Fine Arts Exhibits Presentations & Conference Celebration Reception.

March 20, 2025: The Faculty Scholarship Celebration, the third annual Faculty 3-Minute Research Competition, and Faculty Scholarship Celebration Luncheon.

The Fourth Annual Faculty 3-Minute Research Competition

Hosted by the Graduate School as part of the 2025 Research and Scholarship Conference and the 33rd Annual Graduate Research Symposium

The Research and Scholarship Conference and the Graduate Research Symposium is calling for any interested faculty to participate in the third annual WCU Faculty 3-Minute Research Competition.

Modeled after the 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition faculty will be celebrating the exciting and innovative research, scholarship, and creative activity taking place here at WCU in only 3 minutes! The competition will be held live and in-person in the A.K. Hinds University Center on Thursday, March 20, 2025 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm. Cash prizes will be awarded to faculty winners.

The competition is open to any faculty member from across any discipline. Faculty register using the following link:

The Faculty Scholarship Celebration is an event that highlights faculty accomplishments as they relate to research. The event hosts a Faculty 3MR Competition and showcases faculty scholarship posters in addition to celebrating the recipients of the Million Dollar Circle Awards, the Hunter Scholar Award, and the Provost's Scholarship Development Grant Awards. 

Monday, March 17th (access to virtual wesbite open to campus and the public):

• 2025 Research and Scholarship Conference's Affiliate Website Opening, featuring the 27th Annual Undergraduate Exposition, the 33rd Annual Graduate Research Symposium, and the Annual Faculty Scholarship Celebration.
• Featured content will include project listings for graduate and undergraduate student poster, oral, and performance presentations, and fine arts exhibits.

 

Wednesday, March 19th: The Undergraduate Exposition and Graduate Research Symposium (open to campus and the public):

• 9:00 am - 3:00 pm - Undergraduate and Graduate Oral and Performance presentations, A.K. Hinds University Center 
• 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Preliminary Faculty 3MR, Ramsey Center Arena 
• 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm - The Research and Scholarship Conference Keynote Address, Ramsey Center Arena
• 6:00 pm - 6:15 pm - Award Ceremony, Ramsey Center Arena 
• 6:15 pm - 7:30 pm - The Undergraduate Exposition and Graduate Research Symposium Poster Presentations, Fine Arts Exhibits, and Celebration Reception, Ramsey Center Concourse

 

Thursday, March 20th: The Faculty Scholarship Celebration:

• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm - The 4th Annual Faculty 3-Minute Research Talk Competition, A.K. Hinds University Center's Grandroom
• 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Faculty Scholarship Celebration Luncheon, A.K. Hinds University Center's Grandroom (reservation only event)
• 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Awards and Highlights

The 2025 Research and Scholarship Conference (RASC) planning committee is pleased to announce that this year’s keynote address will be given by WCU alumnus and bestselling author David Joy.  Joy, a twelfth-generation North Carolinian, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from WCU.  His work, which includes five best-selling novels, has garnered acclaim, winning the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, and the Southern Book Prize.     

SAVE THE DATE: David ´³´Ç²â’s keynote address is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th, from 5:00-6:00 pm in the Ramsey Center Arena.    

The keynote address, sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Graduate School and Research, Hunter Library, and the Brinson Honors College, will center on WNC Mountain Life and ´³´Ç²â’s scholarly writing process.  The WCU Community and public are invited to attend and engage in this thought-provoking presentation that aligns with WCU’s research mission and our campus theme of WNC Mountain Life.  

Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵapp David Joy… 

David Joy displays the breadth of lived experiences through the characters in his novels, creating a more accurate and equitable representation of people from the region.  His novels follow the lives of everyday working-class people dealing with universal issues of race, addiction, and mental health.  The stories are rooted in Jackson County and those who know the area will recognize the street names, creeks, and stores that dot the world his characters inhabit.  Through the commercial success of his novels, he has brought the culture of the region to the attention of a wider audience.    

Joy has also written myriad essays highlighting the importance of preserving the culture of Appalachia and understanding how it grows and evolves. His essays have been published in The New York Times Magazine, The Huffington Post, Garden and Gun, and The Bitter Southerner.  He weaves his own personal experiences with wider research on topics such as gun culture, food pathways, and wildlife conservation.  ´³´Ç²â’s writing comments on the significance of place, time, and local folk culture.