Colloquium kicks off new year

Faculty members gathered for the first time last Tuesday. They will meet 13 times over the course of the semester.

Ten faculty members gathered together last Tuesday in the basement of the Mabee Library to support one another in their research.

The Faculty Colloquium, which started in 2003 with the topic of Brown vs. Board of Education, will meet 13 times total throughout the semester going through November 16 with faculty presenting different research projects over a topic that changes every year. This year’s topic is “The Book” and its current status, with the increase of online and paperless reading.

“The Colloquiums purpose is to attract people from different disciplines to learn from each other,” said Tom Averill, director of the colloquium. “It is to encourage people who are doing research or writing, and to provide a support network, it is the only thing on campus specifically there to support Washburn.”

Alan Bearman, Dean of the University Library, welcomed the colloquium with the question of “What is the future of the book?” presenting the same novel in hardback and on a new iPad that Mabee Library had purchased recently.

Will students read this, will you?” said Bearman, holding up the iPad.

Some of the presentations included Jennifer Wagner, assistant professor of math, presenting research on the aesthetics of mathematics, attempting to show why she feels so strongly about math to those who have not been immersed in the culture of math. Faculty members came from many different disciplines, including art, math, English, mass media, modern languages and history.

“The idea of the colloquium getting together is the intersection of different doctrines in research, and learning from each other by these interactions,” said Averill.