A total of 18 presentations from LCU students have been accepted for this year’s National Conference on Undergraduate Education (NCUR), the highest number seen in LCU’s rising acceptance rate to date. NCUR is considered one of the premier student research conferences in the nation and sees between 3100 and 3500 different student presentations each year. In 2009, LCU students began submitting proposals for paper or poster presentations with the encouragement of the LCU Council on Undergraduate Research. Each year LCU has seen student success with five presentations accepted in 2010, four accepted in 2011, eight accepted in 2012, nine accepted in 2013, and 11 accepted in 2014. LCU faculty members attend the conference along with students as a means of support and as encouragement. To date, students from the sciences, social sciences, and humanities have submitted proposals and have been accepted. Many faculty members agree that encouraging students to participate in NCUR is a worthwhile investment. “I am in a unique situation because I was an undergraduate researcher at LCU in 2004-2006 and am now a faculty mentor. Research as a student at LCU prepared me for graduate school and my career. I kept in touch with my mentors throughout grad school and am now blessed to call them my colleagues and friends,” Dr. Amanda Boston said in a recent NCUR report published by Dr. Susan Blassingame. In fact, Dr. Boston served as the faculty mentor to LCU senior Tyler Sams in 2013. Sams’ documented experience in Dr. Blassingame’s NCUR report was positive. “I am so glad that my faculty mentor, Dr. Amanda Boston, was able to attend NCUR with me. Interacting with faculty mentors in an environment outside the classroom stimulates and encourages the formation of more personal relationships, which are invaluable as many faculty mentors will be writing recommendation letters to graduate schools,” Sams said. When asked what students gain from participating in NCUR, Dr. Susan Blassingame said, “[Students] benefit greatly from working one-on-one with a faculty mentor. Those relationships help students gain valuable experience in talking with an experienced expert in the field and also in developing a positive collegial relationship with a faculty member.” While many students might see submitting proposals as an intimidating venture, Dr. Blassingame encourages participation by making sure each student has a faculty member to work with them and attend the seminar, sharing the work as well as the accolades. “No one gains anything important to success in life by giving in to feelings of insecurity. Students are working with mentors who help them with their work; this close mentoring relationship should help students feel secure in the work they are doing,” Blassingame said. This year’s NCUR will be held at Eastern Washington University (Cheney/Spokane) on April 15 through 19. The 18 LCU student presentations are as follows: Logan Adams – BS Biochemistry, Honors Scholar Logan Adams, "Detection of Genes Encoding Shiga Toxin in Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli Isolated from Urban Playa Lakes and the Feces of Canada Geese and Resident Waterfowl" – Julie Marshall and Lucy Porter Ashley Albrecht – BS Biology
Jase Hill – BS Biology, Honors Scholar Ashley Albrecht and Jase Hill, "Comparison of Escherichia coli Loads in Urban Playa Lakes during Wet and Dry Seasons” – Bart Durham and Lucy Porter Markese Bohanon – BA Biology, Honors Scholar Markese Bohanon, "Identification of Enzymes Produced by Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Pycnoporous sanguineus in the Breakdown of Peanut Agricultural Waste” – Lucy Porter and Julie Marshall Jonathan Campbell – BA History Jonathan Campbell, "The Great Highways of the Ancient World: The History of the Roman Roads in Britain" – Keith Owen Bradley Cummins – BA Art Education Bradley Cummins, "Oil in Water: A Violation" – Michelle Kraft Megan Duren – BSIS Secondary Education Megan Duren, "The Musicality of Linear B" – Keith Owen Stuart Dane Eggleston – BA Psychology Stuart Dane Eggleston, "Police SWAT Team Operators: Operator Experience, Personality, Cognitive-Emotion Regulation, Decision-Making Style, and Implications for Training and Selection" – Andy Young Kalinda Wight – BS Animal Science
Chase Hittle – BS Animal Science Kalinda Wight and Chase Hittle, "Survival of 229-mm Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Stocked into Small Texas Lakes” – Bart Durham Matthew Hoadley – BA English/BA History Matt Hoadley, "Lines in the Sand: Fact and Myth in Ancient Roman Sources" – Matt Byars Lindsey Holt – BA English, Honors Scholar Lindsey Roach Holt, "Reconciling Change, Assimilation, and Tradition in Multicultural Literature” – Ronna Privett Matthew Hutton – BS Biology Matthew Hutton, "Spatial Pattern and Abundance of Escherichia coli at Urban Playa Lakes" – Lucy Porter and Bart Durham Rustin Keneda – BS Chemistry
Nicholas Kam – BS Chemistry Rustin Keneda and Nicholas Kam, “Optimizing Manufacturing Protocol for the Production of Charges Used in Plugging Hydrofracking Wells” – Amanda Boston and Jessica Rogers Sunny Park – BA Communication
Payton Shipley – BA Communication Sunny Park and Payton Shipley, "The Effects of Touch on Emotional Receptive States: Perceptions of a Movie Clip” – Shawn Hughes Leah Price – BA Art Education, Honors Scholar Leah Price, "In Living Memory" – Michelle Kraft Jordan Putman – BS Biochemistry Jordan Putman, "Surveying Antibiotic Resistance and Genomic Relationships in Escherichia coli Isolated from Domestic Geese Fecal Matter in Urban Playa Lakes" – Julie Marshall and Lucy Porter Michael Sa-id – BS Biology/BS Exercise Science, emphasis in Exercise & Health Promotion Michael Sa-id, "Genetic Profiles of Escherichia coli Isolated from the Fecal Matter of Resident Water Fowl of Urban Playa Lakes” – Julie Marshall and Lucy Porter David Lee – BA Youth & Family Ministry
Sommer Obrien – BA Psychology, Honors Scholar
Austin Staggs – BA Youth & Family Ministry David Lee, Sommer O’Brien, and Austin Staggs, "Attachment, Social Influences, and Cognitive Attainment: Exploring Lived Experiences in Adolescence" – Carlos Perez and Steve Bonner Hannah Sutton – BA Missions Hannah Sutton, "Paying for Pandora from the Pews: Comparing Female View of God in the Churches of Christ” – Steve Bonner