CU Research Festival

CU Research Festival logoConcord University celebrates the scholarly accomplishments of its students at the annual CU Research Festival each spring semester. The event allows Concord University students to present their research in either paper or poster format and interact with fellow students, faculty and community guests. The CU Research Festival is hosted by the McNair Scholars and Psychology Programs.

CU Research Festival also features a Graduate and Professional School Fair with representatives from many regional institutions, such as Marshall University, West Virginia State University, Virginia Tech, University of North Carolina – Greensboro, University of North Carolina – Pembroke, Hollins University, Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Radford University, WV College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Concord University. Students are able to interact with representatives that provide information about their graduate school and professional programs.

The 15th Annual Undergraduate Research Day and Graduate & Professional School Fair will be held on Friday, April 12, 2024 in the Jean & Jerry Beasley Student Center State Room and Ballroom.

Calling all presenters! To participate in the 2024 CU Research Festival, please scan our QR code or click here to submit this completed form online, print the confirmation email for your faculty sponsor to sign, and turn it in to the McNair Office (Student Center Room 111) by April 2, 2024 at 4:00pm.

CU Research Festival logo with QR code. Scan the code to submit your research abstract

Schedule of Events
Event Time Location
Welcoming Remarks (coffee and continental breakfast available) 9:00 am

State Room

2nd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center
Student Paper Session 9:10 am – 12:50 pm

 State Room

2nd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center
Greetings from Associate Provost Dr. Kathy Liptak 11:50 am – 12:00 pm

 State Room

2nd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center

Keynote Address: Dr. Erik Augustson

“Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein: Why making your world more complicated
might be a good thing”

 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

 State Room

2nd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center

Graduate & Professional School Fair

Tiktoks

 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Ballroom

3rd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center

Welcoming remarks

Student Poster Session (light lunch available)

 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Ballroom

3rd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center
Closing Remarks 2:30 pm

Ballroom

3rd Floor Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center

2023 Meeting

  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Holly Cyphert, Associate Professor of Health Sciences at Marshall University
  • Keynote Address: “From McNair to Metabolism: Understanding the Role of Bile Acids in Type 2 Diabetes”
  • CURF Program 2023

2022 Meeting

  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Robert Astur, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Connecticut
  • Keynote Address: “How Video Games, M&Ms, and Magnets Might Improve Your Health!”
  • CURF Program 2022

2021 Meeting

  • The 2021 CU Research Festival meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 Meeting

  • The 2020 CU Research Festival meeting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

2019 Meeting

  • Keynote Speaker:  Dr. Erica Holliday, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas
  • Keynote Address:  “Humble Roots to Huckleberry: Reflections on the Path to a Career with Dr. Holliday”
  • 2019 URD Program

2018 Meeting

  • The 11th Annual CU Research Festival was held on April 12, 2018
  • Keynote Speaker:  Dr. Janine Kripner, Volcanologist and Postodoctoral Researcher, Concord University
  • Keynote Address:  “Explosive Volcanic Eruptions:  Understanding Deadly Volcanoes to Help Communities Prepare for Eruptions”
  • 2018 URD Program

2017 Meeting

  • The 10th Annual CU Research Festival was held on April 13, 2017
  • Special Skype Presentation:  Dr. Michael Kimmer, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Stony Brook
  • Keynote Address:  “The Problem with Masculinity”

2016 Meeting

  • The 9th Annual CU Research Festival was held on April 14, 2016
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Daniel Ehlinger, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Keynote Address: “From Man to Mouse: Uncovering the Neural Circuits of Developmental and Psychiatric Disorders in Animal Models”

2015 Meeting

  • The 8th Annual CU Research Festival was held on April 16, 2015
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael R. Markham, Case-Hooper Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Oklahoma
  • Keynote Address: “The Costs of Active Sensory and Communication Signals in Electric Fish: From Behavior to Molecules”

2014 Meeting

  • The 7th Annual CU Research Festival was held on April 24, 2014
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Erik Auguston, Program Director and Behavioral Scientist for the National Cancer Institute’s Tobacco Control Research Branch
  • Keynote Address: “The Potential of Mobile Health in the Treatment of Health Risk Behaviors: Domestic and International Examples from the National Cancer Institute’s Smokefree.gov Initiative”

2013 Meeting

  • The 6th Annual CU Research Festival was held April 25, 2013
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Darby Proctor, Research Fellow at Emory University’s Yerkes Primate Research Center
  • Keynote Address: “Behavioral Economics in Nonhuman Primates”

2012 Meeting

  • The 5th Annual CU Research Festival was held April 19, 2012
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Thomas S. Critchfield, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Illinois State University
  • Keynote Address: “Science is Your Super Power: The Role of Research-Savvy Consumers (Like You) in Influencing Public Policy”

2011 Meeting

  • The 4th Annual CU Research Festival was held April 21, 2011
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Wilburn Hayden, Professor of Social Work at York University
  • Keynote Address: “Black Appalachia”

2010 Meeting

  • The 3rd Annual CU Research Festival was held April 15, 2010
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Gary Rankin, WV-INBRE and Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University
  • Keynote Address: “Evolution of a Scientist”

2009 Meeting

  • The 2nd Annual CU Research Festival was held April 23, 2009
  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Steven W. Gangestad, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico
  • Keynote Address: “Revisiting Human Estrus: How Women’s Sexual Interests Change Across the Ovulatory Cycle”

2008 Meeting

  • The 1st Annual CU Research Festival was held April 22, 2008
  • Concord University Keynote Speakers: Dr. Jerry Beasley (President); Dr. Joe Allen (Geology); Dr. Rod Klein (Psychology); and Dr. Tom McKenna (Philosophy and History)