Una To Host 2010 Research Day April 20

Apr. 05, 2010

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - Conservation of an endangered fish species, spatial patterns of identity theft and the economic vs. political motives behind last year's 789 Chrysler dealership closings are just three of the many student/faculty research projects being presented at the University of North Alabama's 2010 Research Day. The event will be held at the UNA Guillot University Center banquet halls 9 a.m.-noon April 20.

"This is a day for faculty and students to demonstrate to the community and to campus what research they have been working on," said Dr. Lisa Keys-Mathews, director of the UNA Geographic Research Center and a coordinator of the event. To date, faculty and students from 12 different academic departments are planning to display their research. Matthews says one of the goals of the event is to show the community the variety of research that goes on at UNA every day. "Research is not something that happens inside a black box or on an ivory tower," Mathews said. "We want to introduce other students to research through this event and show them that is something beneficial and fascinating." She said the research should also introduce students to critical problem-solving skills, a top priority among today's employers. "A research project helps students develop problem-solving skills through learning to not only ask the right questions but figuring out how to answer those questions and communicate those answers, as well," Mathews said. "Nobody is born being a researcher, but the skills learned while doing research are career-critical skills." According to Mathews, a coordinator of numerous research projects, including a current project for the U.S. Department of Justice, research inevitably leads to more research. "Students who are mentored by faculty during their projects almost always want to do the same for someone else," Mathews said. The UNA Office of University Advancement, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and the Office of Academic Affairs are sponsoring the 2010 Research Day. For more information, call 256-765-4670.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.