College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Scholars Conference

Undergraduate students in the Arts and Sciences will present their scholarly works in oral and poster format.

Keynote address by Theatre professor Dan Rairdin-Hale will begin at 3 p.m. with a reception following at 5 p.m.

Rairdan-Hale currently is an assistant professor of theatre at St. Ambrose University where he also directs award-winning stage productions, most notably Oedipus Rex, a new ensemble creation which was invited to perform at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Ames, Iowa.

Prior to his teaching position, he lived and worked in Chicago as a professional actor and street performer. He has stage credits from numerous companies in Chicago including The Goodman Theatre, the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and LifeLine Theatre. He has also performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and is an invited artist of Cirque du Soleil.

On film, he held the leading role in the feature length zombie comedy, A Cadaver Christmas, a movie he co-wrote and produced that Variety calls "quite funny" and "ludicrously over-the-top."

Rairdan-Hale earned his bachelor's in theatre from St. Ambrose University and an MFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. He has additional movement and clown training from Dell'Arte International in California.

Session 1, Room 1
3:45 p.m. - Rita Hovar, Renaissance Women: Muses for the Arts
4:05 p.m. - Natalie Roth, Emilia and the Inequalities Between Men and Women in William Shakespeare's Othello
4:25 p.m. - Erica Salmonson, Poetry: A Therapeutic Outlet
4:45 p.m - Emily Mosher, Hidden Morality in Richard III

Session 1, Room 2
3:45 p.m. - Mariah Balinski, Cultural Competence in the Health Care Field
4:05 p.m. - Laura Stark , The Importance of Teaching Stereotypes in a Foreign Language Classroom
4:25 p.m. - Jessica Dorene Barr, El impacto de los cartels de la Guerra Civil espanola y la Revolucion Cubana
4:45 p.m. - Curtis Myers, Religion, Science and the Constitution as Pertaining to Homosexuals

Session 1, Room 3
3:45 p.m. - Joseph Montez, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun: The Undervalued Female Artist of 18th Century France
4:05 p.m. - Leah Richter, Art of the Meskwaki
4:25 p.m. - Elyse Kurtz, Lawrence's Women
4:45 p.m. - Brandi McCroskey, Isabel Archer and Anna Karenina: Victorian Women and Marriage

Session 1, Room 4
3:45 p.m. - Erin Stansifer, Past and Present Racism in France
4:05 p.m. - Mikayla Ensminger, Sexisme et Racisme: la Lutte Continue
4:25 p.m. - Alexandre Giblot Ducray, French Influence and Polygamy in Senegal
4:45 p.m. - Lisa Davila, Camomile Tea & Green Tea: Breast Cancer Prevention

Session 2, Room 1
6:00 p.m. - Rita Hovar, Dante's Inferno: The Transformation of Italian Afterlife Imagery
6:20 p.m. - Mary Margaret Schechinger, Women at the Altar
6:40 p.m. - Annah Miller, Popular Lay Religion in Medieval Britain
7:00 - Derek Dixon, Tearing Down the Union Jack: The Rise of American Aggression in Central America During the 1850s

Session 2, Room 2
6:00 p.m. - Meghan Rettenmeier, Los cuidados de salud en los EEUU a los pacientes de no habla inglesa (Health Care of Non-English Speakers in the U.S.)
6:20 p.m. - Lindsay Olson, TPRS: An Alternative Method for Teaching a Foreign Language
6:40 p.m. - Sara Kurey, Aphasia and the Bilingual Patient

Session 2, Room 3
6:00 p.m. - Mary Lynch, Morphometric Differences between Certain Structures of Dementia and Non-dementia Diagnosed Brains
6:20 p.m. - Jessica Pera, Rapists' Parental Rights Over Rape-Conceived Children
6:40 p.m. - Stephanie Thompson and Eryka Berglund, Discovering How Nature Affects Perceptions of Self and Environment

Session 2, Room 4
6:00 p.m. - Brandon Peiffer, Haiti: A Country that immigrated to the United States
6:20 p.m. - Mollie McNitt, Maternal Healthcare in Haiti: An Opportunity for Change
6:40 p.m. - Stephanie Seward, Existentialism in Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit"
7:00 p.m. - Alexa Ritterhoff, Comparison of French and American Schools Relating to Immigrant Education

Posters and Art Displays - 5:15-6:30
Kara Hennessy, Kara Hennessy's Portfolio
Alex Shipley, Graphic Design Work of Alex Shipley
Catherine Moneysmith, Painting My Way Through St. Ambrose University
Jarrett Holloway, Design and Creative Work by Jarrett Holloway
Brittney Allen, Graphic Design and Photography Portfolio
Lakin Sheeder, Graphic Design Portfolio
Emilie Minteer and George Langheld, Autistic Teenage Girl Gets to Feel Like a Rockstar
Jennifer Arnold and Colleen Mitchell, The Impact of Jail Programs on Recidivism
Deanna Reichardt, Human Rights in the World: An Ethical Analysis of the Hissene Habre Case in Africa
Kevin Campbell, Nitrate Concentrations in the Edwards River
Kaitlyn Kielsmeier, Relationships Between Functional Movement Screen Scores and Agility Among NAIA Male Athletes
David Cooper, Jessica Everingham, Matthew Kraciun, Investigating the Falling-Head Hydraulic Conductivity Field Test in a Laboratory Setting
Caitlin Ionnacci, a variety of print design work and digital photography. Design pieces include logo designs, book jacket design, posters, and identity systems.
Rachel Krier, a variety of graphic design pieces, including logo designs, identity systems, package design, and more.