Oakland hosts First Graduate Student Research Conference

Oakland hosts first Graduate Student Research Conference
Birds eye view of poster presentations at the first Graduate Student Research Conference held at Oakland University on May 27, 2016.

A new tradition began at Oakland University with the inaugural Graduate Student Research Conference held on May 27.
 

The half-day event kicked off with a breakfast and plenary session that featured three interdisciplinary oral presentations. The assembled group heard about the School of Engineering and Computer Science’s Loon Copter, the School of Medicine’s Holistic Admissions Review Process and the School of Health Sciences’ presentation on the self-rated health of undergraduate OU students.
 

From there, the conference broke into smaller groups providing the opportunity for attendees to choose from 36 oral presentations held in a variety of Oakland Center rooms.
 

After a short break, the conference continued with attendees strolling through the Fireside Lounge to review and discuss the 25 poster presentations with their authors.
 

A day of digesting a wealth of graduate research information culminated with a keynote presentation by Napoleon Harrington, MA, NCC, LPC. His talk inspired listeners to continue doing research after finishing their graduate studies, to incorporate it into their professional careers and encouraged them to continue their life journey by achieving their own personal success.
 

Harrington holds two degrees from Oakland University (2002 and 2004) and is the founder and CEO of the Ambassador Counseling & Research Group. His organization addresses the mental health and wellness of youth, individuals and families.
 

“We wanted to create an outlet to showcase the wide range of excellent research being done by our graduate students,” said Claudia A. Petrescu, Ph.D., dean of graduate education. “That is why having an annual conference like this is so important. We can celebrate the current graduate research work being done and spark the next great idea.”

Petrescu said this year’s conference put the building blocks in place to grow the conference in the future. Arik Dvir, Ph.D., Interim Vice Provost for Research, also expressed the importance of showcasing students’ research.
 

The conference was organized by the department of Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning and The Research Office.
 

Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning is dedicated to academic excellence in graduate education at Oakland University. With approximately 130 graduate programs, the department opens the door to opportunity for its students.

More photos from the conference are below:

 

Dean of Graduate Studies Claudia Petrescu welcomed the group and opened the conference.

New Oakland University Ph.D. graduate Steven Meyer presented "An Analysis of University Academic Department  Chairperson's Resource Management Decisions."

Sinsery Gardner's oral presentation was on "Father involvement in Preschool Classroom."

Keynote speaker Napoleon Harrington, MA, NCC, LPC inspired the listeners.

Harrington inspired listeners to continue doing research after finishing their graduate studies, to incorporate it into their professional careers and encouraged them to continue their life journey by achieving their own personal success.

The program from the inaugural Graduate Student Research Conference.