[PeterParker]

While this is very secondary at this point in light of the recent developments...the university will get back to the vision at hand and a point of narmalcy soon. I came across this on the Big South Website as a cool academic sponsoring by the Big South: (Falwell tie-in...Academics, if it is christian it should be better. )


http://www.coastal.edu/bigsurs/?KEY=&DB ... R_CONTENT=

Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium
March 23-24, 2007

Coastal Carolina University is proud to host the First Big South Undergraduate Research Symposium (BigSURS), March 23-24, 2007. Students from the Big South Conference colleges are encouraged to submit proposals for presentation at this two-day event in Myrtle Beach, SC. Faculty mentors and coaches are encouraged to accompany their students.

The idea of a multi-disciplinary undergraduate research symposium sponsored by the Big South (Athletic) Conference was endorsed in summer 2005 by The Big South Conference Academic Consortium comprised of the chief academic officers of the Big South colleges. In the spirit of fostering academic relationships among the conference member institutions, all students from the member schools, including the student-athletes, would be provided an opportunity to submit their research proposals for presentation at the Symposium.

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) is the major academic conference for all fields of study and is entering its 21st year in 2007 to be held at Dominican University of California . http://www.dominican.edu/ncur21.html Based on this superlative, long-standing model, BigSURS will be scheduled for the years when NCUR takes place west of the Mississippi River. In consideration of limited travel budgets, this symposium will provide another opportunity for students on the East Coast to participate in an academic conference and to present their research. Similar to NCUR, BigSURS proceedings will be published.