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MILLIGAN — Milligan University will host the eighth annual RISE Above Research Conference throughout the day on Thursday, April 15. The public is invited to participate in the research conference virtually through Zoom.
The RISE Above Research Conference is a culminating event for undergraduate and graduate students engaged in faculty-mentored research. Presentations will showcase scholarly and creative research from many disciplines and majors.
“This conference is a showcase of what our students have learned through mentored research with faculty,” said Dr. Joy Drinnon, professor of psychology and director of undergraduate research at Milligan. “Research skills are critical for students preparing for master’s and doctorate-level work, and every year, I enjoy seeing the culmination of our students’ hard work when they present their final projects.”
The theme for this year’s conference is “Towards Healing,” and students were encouraged to explore the concept of healing through the lens of their specific discipline. Over 35 research projects will be presented, and topics include the healing powers of art; sustainable irrigation; the mental health of student-athletes affected by COVID-19; perfectionism and spiritual struggle; fostering resiliency in education through the use of innovative technology; and attitudes towards the Black Lives Matter and Blues Lives Matter movements.
Dr. Kellie Brown, area chair of music, will present this year’s faculty lecture. Her lecture, “The Sound of Hope: Holocaust Music as an Agent of Resistance, Resiliency and Reconciliation,” will focus on the topic of her latest book. For almost 20 years, Brown has researched the music of the Holocaust through the lives of remarkable people, including composers, conductors and performers. Her presentation will explore how these musicians stubbornly clung to music, wherever and however they could, to preserve their culture, to uplift the human spirit and to triumph over oppression, even amid incredible tragedy and suffering. Her work highlights how music became an agent of spiritual resistance and resiliency for the Jewish people as they battled against a force that sought to exterminate them. Brown has also cultivated relationships with Holocaust survivors, their children and grandchildren, and through these connections, she has witnessed how music has been, and continues to be, a vital means for remembrance and reconciliation.
For more information on the RISE Above Research conference and to access links to the Zoom presentations, visit milligan.edu/research/conference.