SSD ready to celebrate 20th year

A record number of presenters and faculty mentors will highlight the 20th annual Student Scholars Day on Wednesday, April 8.

Susan Mendoza, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, said more than 350 presentations are scheduled.

“We are excited to support the achievements of these students representing 70 diverse majors across the university,” Mendoza said.

Poster, oral and panel presentations will run from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Kirkhof Center, Henry Hall and Mary Idema Pew Library. Film and live performances are scheduled for 1 and 5 p.m. in the library’s multipurpose room, and an art exhibition will be shown in the library’s exhibition space all day with an artist reception at 5 p.m.

The keynote speaker will be Brian Fagan, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and an expert on the relationship between climate change and human society. Fagan will give a presentation at 7 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette Room.

Fagan wrote a bestseller, "The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations," that showcases the power of climate change to disrupt and alter history.

For more information and to view a schedule of presentations, visit www.gvsu.edu/ours/ssd.