The 2019 IU Southeast Student Conference concluded on Friday, April 19 with a luncheon and awards ceremony to recognize outstanding undergraduate and graduate research across all academic disciplines.
This year’s conference boasted 300 students presenting 208 posters, papers and performances. There were 54 faculty mentors and 58 faculty and staff judges, along with 22 student volunteers.
The winners of awards are listed below, though it is important to note that everyone involved in or touched by this event—including students, their families, faculty sponsors, volunteers and the campus itself—has made a significant contribution to scholarship at IU Southeast.
Graduate Awards
| Award | Winner | Title of Presentation | Faculty Sponsor |
| Chancellor’s Award for Creative Achievement | Christie Clare | Palliative and End-of-Life Educational Improvement Project: Using Standardized Patients in an Observational Simulation for Pre-Licensure Nursing Students | Laura McIlvoy |
| Chancellor’s Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement | Mikaela Click | The Effects of Bonuses on Employee Performance and Satisfaction and Alternative Forms of Incentives. | Jared Law-Penrose |
| Outstanding Presentation related to Diversity Award | Casey Ginn | Collaborative Learning Groups | Sau Hou Chang |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Education | Kallie Krammes | The Impact of Student Collaboration | Sau Hou Chang |
Undergraduate Awards
| Award | Winner | Title of Presentation | Faculty Sponsor |
| Chancellor’s Award for Creative Achievement | Allison Cloud | Twee Economics: The Economics of Fascism in Wes Anderson Films | Alan Abbot |
| Chancellor’s Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement | Sarah Cheatham and Vanessa Mills | Adressing Stereothypes, Stigma and Bullying in Scott County Schools | Linda Wells-Freiberger |
| The Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Excellence Award | Brandon Visetchaisri | An Exploration of Seventeenth Century Composer Barbara Strozzi | Jeramy Nichols |
| The Outstanding Presentation related to Diversity Award | Merlin Lee | The Intersection Between Cultural Survivability and Architecture in Taos Pueblo | Anne Allen |
| The Outstanding Fine Arts Studio or Art History Award | Brianna Dixon | Everyday Living Redesign | Kok Cheow Yeoh |
| The Glann mason Outstanding Presentation in Natural Science Award | Madison Reff | Artificial Waterholes and Chukar Predation in Jordan | Omar Attum |
| The Social Sciences Award for Community or Civic Engagement | Kayla Robnett and Kentrell Applegate | “Where’s My Equipment?”: Developing Equipment Efficiency at Clark Memorial Hospital | Janice McMahan |
| The Bernardo Carducci Outstanding Presentation in Psychology | Jacob Carter | Commitment Issues: Examining the Relationship between Organizational Commitment and Workplace Deviance | Todd manson |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Natural Sciences | Jillian Recchio and Mariah Tyree | Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Exposure and its Withdrawal’s Effects on Impulsivity in Rats | Meghan Kahn |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Business | Eric Finny | Leaders Who Satisfy: Examining Positive Leadership Styles and their Effect on Job Satisfaction | Todd Manson |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Psychology | Kristyn Jones | Oh Baby: Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms Following Childbirth and the Quality of the Parent-baby Bond | Aimee Adam |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Public Service | Allison Cloud | Expanding the Writing Center: The Success of Writing Fellows in the Classroom | Leigh Ann Meyer |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in History | Krystin Robertson | Shattered Humanity: The Brutality of the Lynch Mob Formation | Elizabeth Gritter |
| The Outstanding Oral Presentation in Sociology | Mary Ames | Societal Shifts and Fashion Fads: American Women’s Fashion, 1918-1980 | Elizabeth Gritter |
| The Outstanding Community Engagement Poster Award | Andrew Meiners and Damir Beganovic | Comfort House of Corydon | Ron Finkbine |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Natural Sciences | Stephen Kirtley | Cloning the SOS4 Gene | Elizabeth Rueschhoff |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Business | Sydney Sturgill | Personality Characteristics and Work Motivation | Diane Wille |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Psychology | Kelsey Lavenson | Art and the Effects of Lowering Anxiety | Meghan Kahn |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Public Service | Lisa Lewis | A Communities Fight Against Opioid Addiction | Janice McMahan |
| The Outstanding Poster Presentation in Computer Science | David Devore, Ben Heil and Nathan Smith | Siskin Steel Project | Ronald Finkbine |
| Outstanding Poster Presentation | Chris Kenney and Chris Brister | Protecting Our Veterans from MRSA | Janice McMahan |
| Outstanding Poster Presentation | Macy Plaiss | Dental Health and Pregnancy Outcomes | Jodi Henderson |
| Outstanding Poster Presentation | Olivia Ross | Ketones and Cancer Cells: Starving Cancer Naturally | Rebekah Dement Farmer |
As in years past, students in the Honors Freshman Seminar, psychology and natural sciences also contributed to the success of the event. They stuffed conference bags, staffed the conference registration table, moderated the poster and oral presentation sessions and helped to set up the awards ceremony.
The conference was also enlivened by 30 students from New Albany High School’s Junior Achievement Program.
At the luncheon and awards gathering, two outstanding IU Southeast faculty members shared their personal stories to lend perspective to their research.
Doug Barney, professor of accounting, spoke on the topic, “Unspoken Values.”
Barney recounted an academic and life path strewn with failures that turned out to be learning moments, from which he emerged the wiser.
Tiffany Carbonneau, assistant professor of art, digital art and interactive media , spoke on the topic, “Over Continents and Oceans.”
Carbonneau displayed examples of her multimedia projections in public spaces and their connection to her family story.
In his remarks to the gathering, IU Southeast Chancellor Dr. Ray Wallace emphasized the value that students may derive from participating in the conference.
Wallace reinforced the point that the skills developed in preparing conference presentations travel well: employers and other professionals take note that students with research backgrounds can already perform these tasks at a high level, and can also successfully work as part of a team.
For Wallace, the conference incarnates the responsibility of the campus to enhance the intellectual, societal and economic development of the region by giving students the tools to understand and shape the world around them.
“Because we live in an increasingly complex and diverse society, we strive to provide our students with learning experiences that will prepare them for the many challenges they will face in their careers and also their lives,” Wallace said. “We encourage an environment of endless curiosity and a passion for discovery.”
Homepage photo: Sociology student Elizabeth Gillenwater discusses her research on gender inequality in film with judges Kok Cheow Yeoh and James Hollenbeck.