Celebration of Faculty Scholarship inspires Canisius students

By: Javohir Aminov, News Editor

Canisius held its annual Celebration of Faculty Scholarship on Wednesday, Oct. 21. This event brought nearly 40 faculty members to give them the opportunity to present their research to students and colleagues through physical presentation, and to educate them on topics that range from whale communication, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the shared female experience. 

The Celebration of Faculty Scholarship, organized by the IMPACT center, encourages the Canisius community to explore new ideas and to enlighten themselves about different research in topics in fields that they never thought of learning about. Through this experience, students learn how to gather and analyze data, assess scientific evidence and develop their own research questions through the means of their own findings.

This can encourage them to engage in real investigations and provide them a clearer understanding of how they should apply their scientific knowledge and to further develop it. The Celebration of Faculty Scholarships role in the creation of significant experiences for students allows professors to integrate modern research methods and discoveries into their own teaching. Such includes Dr. Jennifer Snekser’s, PhD, Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation (ABEC) 340 class of Research Methods in Animal Behavior, which aids students in connecting their curriculum work to solve real world problems and achieve measurable results from their knowledge.

By doing so, they utilize their curiosity to expand on their independent thinking. Not only is the celebration beneficial to Canisius students, but it is also a prospect for the staff and faculty. They too can exchange knowledge with one another for the purpose of comprehending their peers' research, and use it in their own areas of studies while actively improving their work. Students constantly remark that the Celebration of Faculty Scholarship has made them critically think about how environmental science, molecular biology and social concepts work behind the scenes that derive from our known understanding.

A student shared their honest opinion saying that “It was informative to learn about professors' research, but would've liked to see more of the non–science based majors.” Although they were appreciative of the research that adhered to the specific majors, it would've been more inclusive if they included the other majors that would allow for students to do research. A junior in the Anthrozoology department also shared their thoughts on the event. They’ve stated that learning about what their professors do for research has inspired them to pursue a research career of their own in the near future. “By incorporating the research methods I've seen during the event, it will really give me the leeway I need to start up my own research after graduation,” said the student.