By Rick Vacek
GCU News Bureau
When he was conducting the research colloquium at Grand Canyon University, Dr. Kevin McClean often talked about how he wanted to see it grow.
His wish has become GCU’s demand.
As in the demand for available spots in the fourth annual Kevin McClean Research Colloquium, the annual event conducted – usually on campus – in his honor.
In another odd bit of COVID-19 irony, there will be far more presenters than ever when the event is conducted virtually this year. There are so many presenters, in fact, that it will require two days, Wednesday and Thursday, to get through the 17 projects (see schedule below).
GCU’s Eta Chi chapter of Delta Mu Delta, the international business honor society, organizes and manages the event, and one of its advisors, Tracey Lauterborn, has a theory: Maybe faculty, staff and students had more time during the pandemic to work on their research. But she was more than happy to follow through on McClean’s goal.
“It gives us an opportunity to showcase these opportunities from a centralized, ‘We are GCU’ perspective,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to unite the various colleges to show that these opportunities are possible, they are important and we are helping to cultivate that interest in our existing faculty who have been here and have Ph.D.’s and also in our students, that maybe one day they’ll pursue that road.”
The number of GCU students presenting – five – is important.
“We didn’t want to reject students because the quality of their research is not as good as a Ph.D.,” Lauterborn said. “We want to encourage them to keep going. I thought, ‘What the heck. Let’s just include the students, and this will be a forum for them to get the feedback that they need to hopefully pique their interest.’”
The colloquium starts at 3 p.m. both days and runs a little more than 2½ hours. Each presentation is scheduled for 10 minutes, plus five minutes for questions.
It is a classic example of unintended benefits resulting from the pandemic. Having it online means more people can present and more people can watch – Dr. Moronke Oke, another Eta Chi advisor along with Dr. Helen Hammond, said they’ll consider the possibility of having one day in person and one day online in nonpandemic years.
But the main benefit is fulfilling McClean’s original aim.
“Dr. McClean always wanted to see it be much larger,” Hammond said. “We had a larger number that applied, so we allowed them to present because of the Zoom platform.”
The schedule, with GCU students noted by an asterisk (*):
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24
Session 1
3 p.m. – Welcome
3:10 p.m. – Dr. Dulce Maria Ruelas, Danielle Henderson, College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, “Emotional and Behavioral Responses from Public Health Students on COVID-19 Pandemic Declaration”
3:25 p.m. – Dr. Jason Hembree, Colangelo College of Business, “Exploring the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction in Human Resources”
3:40 p.m. – Dr. Julia Gilmore, Bellevue University College of Business, “Exploring the Use of a Video Case Analysis to Increase Student Learning and Engagement”
3:55 p.m. – Hanwen Hu*, Samuel Blackledge*, Dr. Ramesh Velupillaimani, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, “Evaluation of Antibacterial Efficacy of Herbal Extracts In Combination with Essential Oils and DNA Barcoding of Medicinal Plants”
4:10 p.m. – Ajeane Cotton*, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, “Baccharis Sarothroides Extract Potentially Attenuates Chronic Anxiety and Infections”
4:25 p.m. – Wrap-up
Session 2
4:30 p.m. – Welcome
4:35 p.m. – Dr. Breanna Naegeli, Honors College, “The Influence of Fan Engagement through Social Media on Performance Anxiety”
4:50 p.m. – Dr. Merri Pedersen, Colangelo College of Business, “Engineering Leaders' Descriptions of Leadership Competencies in the Information Technology Field”
5:05 p.m. – Jena Akard, Stephanie Nilsen, College of Education, “Teaching Effective Online Engagement Strategies to Early Childhood Residency Preservice Teachers: Research, Implementation, and Reflections”
5:20 p.m. – Karson Rush-Briones*, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, “Synergistic Antibacterial Effects of Desert Plant Extracts and Antibiotics”
5:35 p.m. – Wrap-up
THURSDAY, FEB. 25
Session 3
3 p.m. – Welcome
3:10 p.m. – Dr. Randy Gibb, Dr. David Perkins, Colangelo College of Business, “Degraded Visual Conditions: Failing to Plan the Flight”
3:25 p.m. – Dr. Zachary Zeigler, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, “Effect of Sustained COVID-19 Guidelines on Eating Behaviors and Weight Gain”
3:40 p.m. – Dr. Marnie Davis, Colangelo College of Business, “Civic Engagement of Campus-based and Online Undergraduate Students: A Quantitative Causal Comparative Study”
3:55 p.m. – John Steele, Sarah Robertson, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Dr. Jean Mandernach, Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching, “Exploring Value Variations in Instructor Presence Techniques”
4:10 p.m. – Wrap-up
Session 4
4:30 p.m. – Welcome
4:40 p.m. – Greg Lucas, Dr. Shaunna Waltemeyer and Dr. Helen Hammond, Colangelo College of Business; Dr. Gary Cao, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; and Dr. Jean Mandernach, Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching; “The Value of Instructor Interactivity in the Online Classroom”
4:55 p.m. – Dr. Paul Danuser, College of Education, “Self-Efficacy and Servant Leadership through Tutoring and Mentoring: A Qualitative Case Study”
5:10 p.m. – Tracy Vasquez, Dusty Sanchez and Destini McGlothen, College of Education, “Creating Relevant and Specific Feedback for Teacher Candidates' Virtual Observations”
5:25 p.m. – April Sellers*, Center for Antimicrobial Products, “A Natural Cure in Cactus: Screening of Opuntia Species for Antimicrobial Activity”
5:40 p.m. – Wrap-up
Contact Rick Vacek at (602) 639-8203 or [email protected].
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