Students and staff gather in the Fireside Room for the Opening Reception of the 2022 Seaver Research Symposium. Vice Provost Lee Kats said the event has grown from a group of 10 student participants in 2006 to over 150 this year. Photo by Sammie Wuensche
On March 25, dozens of seats in the Fireside Room filled with students and faculty dressed in their nicest business attire to kick off an annual series of events celebrating research and honoring the students who spend months — and for some, years — on their projects.
The Seaver College Research and Scholarly Achievement Symposium is a 16-year tradition that brought in over 150 student participants. Assistant Provost for Research Katy Carr said the symposium empowers student researchers and brings attention to the work they do with faculty mentors.
“In the research project process — there’s so many parts of it depending on your discipline or your specific project that are essential — but one of the most essential that sometimes people don’t think about is dissemination,” Carr said. “You have to have a place to share it. So this was meant to give that opportunity.”
Opening Ceremony
The Provost’s Office sponsored the symposium and welcomed the Pepperdine community to the conference-style research event with a formal Opening Ceremony. Carr said students working in research programs at the University and on their own participate in the symposium, with creative and performing artists taking part as well.
Seaver Dean Michael Feltner was the keynote speaker at the ceremony, offering remarks about his hopes for the symposium and his goals for participants.
“I know all of you in the room have engaged in scholarship, and that requires perseverance and sacrifice, and all the information can be tedious and exact and incredibly frustrating,” Feltner said. “But that’s not the fun part of it. That’s the part that leads to fun because we have a discovery and we put the puzzle…