Minnesota State Mankato to Celebrate Research of Faculty, Staff, Students in April During University’s 2nd Annual Research Month

April 01, 2022 | News Story

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato is holding its second annual “Research Month” throughout April to showcase the multitude of research, scholarly and creative activity that occurs at the University.

The public is invited to access many events for free either in-person or online through an online calendar. In addition, the University’s Research Month Web page has links to the many research, creative and scholarly activities happening at Minnesota State Mankato.

Minnesota State Mankato President Edward Inch said in a video message that the month is an opportunity to celebrate research across campus.

“Research celebrations are truly an opportunity to showcase some of the incredible work on our campus,” said Inch, “and to share it with our community, as well as with the people on our campus, about all of the great things that our faculty and our students are able to do together to create new knowledge to disseminate new ideas, and to share in each other’s success.”

One of the student-related research events during the month is the Undergraduate Research Symposium on Tuesday, April 12, an in-person event that is hosted by Minnesota State Mankato’s Undergraduate Research Center. There will also be an online (asynchronous) version of the Undergraduate Research Symposium that will go live online on April 25. A link will be available April 25 at: https://research.mnsu.edu/undergraduate-research-center/undergraduate-research-center-present-and-publish/undergraduate-research-symposium/

Among recent University research news, the Undergraduate Research Center was recently awarded an innovation grant from the Minnesota State system to implement a pilot program for the 2022-23 academic year.

The pilot program, titled the “Maverick Research Ambassador Project,” will provide developing undergraduate researchers with the opportunity to promote the concept of research and serve as role models and liaisons to their student peers, helping to build their identities as researchers and scholars.

In addition, these students will design and conduct a research project addressing the issue of research identity and underrepresentation of diverse students in Undergraduate Research Center programs.

Ambassadors will be selected with an emphasis on under-represented groups in Undergraduate Research Center programs, including international students, BIPOC students, and Pell-eligible students. More information about the innovation grant can be found at the following link: https://asanewsletter.org/2022/03/21/congratulations-to-the-2022-small-seed-and-sustaining-innovation-funding-recipients/.

For more information on the innovation grant, please contact Patrick Tebbe, director of the Undergraduate Research Center, by email at patrick.tebbe@mnsu.edu or by phone at 507-389-2668.

2022 Distinguished Faculty Scholar Recipients

Teri Wallace, interim associate vice president for research and dean of extended campus, Daniel Houlihan, director of the Center for Excellence in Scholarship and Research, and the members of the Faculty Research Committee recently announced the 2022 Distinguished Faculty Scholar award recipients: Nancy Fitzsimons (Department of Social Work), David Sharlin (Department of Biological Sciences) and Kuldeep Agarwal (Department of Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology).

Awardees will be recognized at this year’s Celebration of Excellence event on April 26 as part of Minnesota State Mankato’s Research Month.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Media with questions about Research Month may contact Teri Wallace, the University’s interim associate vice president for research and dean of extended campus, by phone at 507-389-5381 or by email at teresa.wallace@mnsu.edu.)

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,546 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.

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