By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Since 2005, the John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days have been an annual celebration of the scholarly work of Fort Hays State University students, faculty and staff. The work is shared among colleagues and with the public.
This year's event is April 29-May 3 at several locations on campus. Online content will be available the entire week.
A special open house will be May 1 for on-campus exhibitions, including:
The event is open to all academic disciplines.
Included in the presentations are traditional posters, art and creative works, musical performances, applied technology projects, and an opportunity to meet published authors, which is new this year.
Morgan Steele, criminal justice program assistant professor, said scholarly and creative activity encourages critical thinking, innovation, collaboration and leadership.
"We have so many outstanding researchers — faculty members and students — who are doing really fascinating, impactful work in their areas," Steele said.
Research is important, he said, because there are so many things we don't know.
Students doing research come from different backgrounds and experiences, while many faculty come from around the world. All have a unique perspective.
"There are things we are learning just now. It's always a good thing to keep pushing, not just yourself as an individual but in your field as a whole," he said.
Poster information will be archived permanently in the FHSU Scholars Repository.
The late John Heinrichs was a popular FHSU geosciences professor, department chairman, and internationally known Arctic researcher who launched the original Research and Creative Activities Week.
Research and creative activities are 20% of the job requirements for FHSU faculty.
"A lot of people don't know what we do at Fort Hays. Being able to see why we do what we do and how we go about doing it is really just going to be such an important thing for everyone in the Hays community to see," Steele said.