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Tiffin University hosted its first “Student Research Conference”

tu student research conference

Tiffin University hosted its first “Student Research Conference” on Wednesday, April 18, with poster presentations in the Marion Center, followed by paper presentations in the Main Classroom Buildings.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the School of Criminal Justice and Social Sciences, approximately 200 Tiffin University graduate and undergraduate students from all academic schools presented original research and competed for best research in several categories.

Dr. Steven Hurwitz, Dr. Fang-Mei Law and Dr. Elizabeth Althaide-Victor, professors in the School of Criminal Justice at TU co-chaired the event.

“Dr. Hurwitz, Dr. Law and I have been bringing students to regional, national and international research conferences for decades,” said Althaide-Victor. “We thought it was time to bring a conference to our own campus. This is like our Academic Olympics. And these are our academic-athletes – students from all majors, at all levels.”

Hurwitz agreed, saying they were ecstatic. “It is fair to say we exceeded our wildest expectations. We wanted TU to see what our amazing students are doing. We’ve had great support for the event from the President and Provost and great facilities to present.”

Tiffany Turner, a third-year senior and forensic psychology major, with a minor in addictions counseling participated in the event, with her project entitled “Deaf CAN Hear.” She felt that the hard-of-hearing population was pushed to the side and made to feel small, when the population should feel positive and be celebrated. After researching and fact-finding, Turner created and distributed a questionnaire on stereotypes of deaf culture. She also presented an art show called “Deaf Culture Awareness- Stereotypes,” and discussed what deaf culture means to her.

She said “Throughout the semester I was stressed, and overwhelmed to get everything ready. When I arrived it was nerve wracking, however at the end of the conference I had such confidence in myself, not only for my research, but for my public speaking portions. After all my hard work and stress, it paid off when I was awarded the best research in creative research award! It truly was an exhilarating experience that I’ll always look back on, and one I will never forget, thanks to the amazing professors who pushed the idea forward.”

Winners of the best research competition were announced at the luncheon and included:

  • Best Research Poster was awarded for “Identification of Volatile Organic Compounds Present in Decaying Chicken Organs Using SPME-GC/MS” to Amanda Flotteron and Taylor Lewis
  • Best Technology Research was awarded for “Raspberry Pi: A Laser Tripwire Story” to Ty Endsley, Johnathan Miller and Neil Farmer
  • Best Quantitative Research was awarded for “Knowledge and Attitude Towards Human Trafficking” to Hope Creech, Damjana Gjetaj and Dustin Leck
  • Best Qualitative Research was awarded for “Feminine Hygiene in Prisons: the Problem and Solution” to Breanna Steiff
  • Best Interdisciplinary Research was awarded for “Seeing Red: Attitudes Toward Menstruation” to Madeline Blouir and Olivia Osborn
  • Best Creative Research was awarded for “Deaf CAN Hear”: A Study of Deaf Culture Stereotypes” to Tiffany Turner
  • Best Graduate Qualitative Research was awarded for “Professions Impact on Sexual Harassment Punishment” to Jocelyn Bires, Maci Feser and Zosia Zippert
  • Best Graduate Quantitative Research was awarded for “Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance and Recognition” to Andrea Alaniz

“We are very excited to start this new tradition at TU,” said Athaide-Victor. “Next year, we will open the conference and competition to all universities and include a category for professional research.”

For additional information, email Dr. Steven Hurwitz, shurwitz@tiffin.edu.