Buena Vista University (BVU) celebrated its 13^th Scholar’s Day on Saturday, April 29. Scholar’s Day is an annual event on campus which involves a keynote speaker and student presentations.

“It is a showcase of student academic research and success combined with an exhibition of their work and in-house conferences,” said Dr. Steven Mills, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Chair of the Events Committee of Faculty Senate which organize Scholar’s Day.

Mills has been overseeing Scholar’s day for the last three years. The scholarly events of the day are split into two different parts, poster presentations of the research done and verbal presentations which conclude in a question and answer discussion.

During the poster presentations, students present their poster in an open showcase. This time allows for attendees to walk around and ask questions about the research performed. The verbal presentations consisted of a 15-minute presentation to an audience after which audience members can ask any questions they have.

This year Scholar’s Day was a bit different from past years because it was held on the same day as the Student Recognition Dinner. Mills said that by moving Scholar’s Day to the same day as the dinner, the committee hoped that more people will be able to attend both events.

“It is an honor to participate in Scholar’s Day and to be recognized at the Student Recognition Dinner for all the hard work the students have done,” Mills said.

Additionally, in recent years, participation in Scholar’s Day had begun to drop, and Mills said it was in a bit of a stead decline. However, Mills said there was a spike in students involved this year with 60 presentations and 120 presenters. He predicts that this may be because of an increased awareness and faculty encouragement as well as the change of dates.

This year’s Scholar’s Day Keynote Speaker was a BVU alumnus, Adrienne B. Haynes, an attorney and business woman from Kansas City, Missouri. Haynes owns her own non-profit organization and is very involved in her community and serves on the BVU National Alumni Association Board of Directors.