Scholarship, Research, Creativity

by BOYCE DURR photography by TREVER ROHN

Heinrichs’ legacy lives on

If you have not had a chance to stroll across Fort Hays State University’s picturesque campus in a while, now is the time to do so. Unlike much of the school year, abustle with students and faculty, the campus is quite serene in the summer.

Limestone and bronze statues, breathtaking works of art, and numerous plaques inscribed with heartfelt dedications can be found throughout the campus, surrounded by historic buildings, beautiful summer flowers, bushes, and tall shade trees.

Taking time to explore these sites can lead to intriguing discoveries, like the 927-square-foot historic Plymouth Schoolhouse, originally built in 1874, or Tomanek Hall, completed in 1995, which incorporates a uniquely modern design that sets it apart from other campus structures.

While the hall itself is a marvel, just out front, near the water sculpture, stands a lovely little Bradford pear tree dedicated to a former faculty member who used to teach in Tomanek.

Dr. John Heinrichs

Dr. John Heinrichs, an internationally renowned Arctic researcher, a popular professor of geosciences, and former chair of the department, made a tremendous impact at Fort Hays State University. His colleagues, university administration, and especially his students held him in such high esteem that numerous events and awards were renamed or created in his honor after his death in 2014.

In addition to the beautiful tree, there is now the John Heinrichs SEIRA (Student Excellence in Research Award), the Heinrichs Research Group, the Heinrichs Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, and the Dr. John Heinrichs Memorial Geography Scholarship.

Of all the honors and events dedicated to Dr. Heinrichs, the John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activities Day (SACAD) is the most salient. What started in 2005 with students from a few science departments exhibiting their research on tables in Tomanek Hall has grown into a campus-wide celebration showcasing the remarkable research and creativity of FHSU students and faculty.

The SACAD event has grown into a forum for scholarly research and creative activity unique to FHSU. While there are some competitive elements to SACAD, the event is more of a collegial and celebratory

gathering that allows participants to gain invaluable experience and make personal and intellectual connections in a friendly, low-stakes environment.

This year’s 17th annual event broke new ground as the first hybrid (inperson and online) SACAD, following two years of online-only events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Arvin Cruz, associate professor of physical and inorganic chemistry and chair of the Chemistry Department, had served on the SACAD committee for the last nine years and was co-chair of SACAD in 2020 when most in-person events around the country were canceled. He said that the move online worked so well they continued this format in 2021 before moving to a hybrid model in 2022.

Cruz, who agreed to co-chair SACAD again this year, also said he was particularly pleased with the continued inclusion of an online component, as it allowed participation from many more students, especially online or remote students.

One of several factors that makes SACAD distinct from other university presentation forums is inclusivity. Many universities have nothing like SACAD, and the few with internal research presentations generally focus on undergraduate or graduate research, scholarly or creative activities, and inperson events.

SACAD planners continually strive to include as many participants as possible.

Activities include empirical and non-empirical scholarly and scientific poster presentations, oral presentations, and creative works exhibitions covering a broad range such as ceramics, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, and more.

For Trinity Callis, a recent graduate in psychology, SACAD provided an outlet for her work that went far beyond the classroom. She was the first-place winner in the undergraduate oral presentation category with her project entitled “Personality, Decision- Making, and Apologies.”

Maureen Duffy (the widow of John Heinrichs) presents award for best undergraduate oral presentation to Trinity Callis.

A Hays native, Trinity first became interested in psychology at Hays High while taking a course with Matt Brooks, who she describes as “a great teacher.”

While most FHSU students pursuing degrees in psychology take a clinical path where they can begin working in the field upon graduation, Trinity found she was drawn more toward industrial/organizational psychology (I/O Psych) enough to research graduate programs in that field.

She believes SACAD made a big difference in her applications to Missouri State University and Minnesota State University.

“When people found out that I was already doing research as an undergrad and presenting it, they became really interested,” she said. “They asked questions about the project and SACAD, and everyone seemed really impressed with what I was doing.”

Trinity was accepted and now plans to attend Minnesota State in the fall.

Trinity was not the only member of her family to participate and find benefit in SACAD this year. Her older brother, Tanner Callis, gave an oral presentation as a graduate student working on his master’s in English. He had also participated in SACAD as an undergraduate in 2019 while working on his undergraduate degree in psychology.

Tanner had not planned to participate this year, but discussing research with his sister motivated him to examine his work and find a way to become involved.

He participated in the oral presentations at the graduate level. His study, “On the Road Towards Better Things: The Evolution of Heart of Darkness’ Critical Readership,” examined the evolution of scholarly research on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Tanner explained how working on projects for SACAD from two different disciplines has allowed him to understand and develop research as a psychologist would and explore how scholars in the humanities would prepare and present their work.

“I have been able to draw from all my experiences, not just from one class or even one discipline,” he explained. “SACAD has helped me build confidence in myself and my work. These are real-world applications that I will use in the future.”

These sentiments were echoed by Dr. Cruz.

“The opportunity for students to display their work to a larger audience, get a sense of what it is like to engage in the types of scholarship one might see at an academic conference, and do so early on in their education is something that just doesn’t happen in many places,” Cruz said.

“People are listening to presentations, stopping to examine a poster, and seeing the work that went into it with students from all programs and disciplines, at the graduate, undergraduate levels,” he continued.

FHSU even has high school students from the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science (KAMS) and the Academy of Mathematics and Science (AMS) who participate and do very well.

Anniston Anderson, a 16-year-old KAMS student from LaCrosse, and her partner, Muyang Xu, an AMS student from China, presented an empirical research poster entitled, “Preparing a CRISPR Vector to Mutate the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) Gene in Arabidopsis.” Their work will help us better understand the function of genes involved in plant leaf development.

Under the guidance of Dr. Tara Phelps-Durr, their faculty mentor and Biology Department chair, Anderson, a high school junior, conducted cutting-edge genetics research and publicly presented her findings thanks to a combination of programs only found at Fort Hays State University.

“FHSU supports developing new areas of excellence in all disciplines as part of its mission to advance knowledge and further the economic growth of the state,” said Dr. Whitney Whitaker, associate professor of psychology and the other SACAD cochair this year.

SACAD furthers this mission by encouraging critical thinking, innovation, collaboration, and leadership.

Collaboration is key for all participants, even students who choose to work independently because they receive guidance from their faculty mentors. For some, SACAD is an opportunity to reach across disciplines and bring people with different skill sets together to create something that would not be possible individually.

“I was really impressed with some of the interdisciplinary projects I saw,” Trinity said. She referred specifically to a research project entitled “Mechanics of Videogame Creation” by Jarom Ort, Secily Cruse, Katie Vaughn, Seth Szekula, and Harrison Stephens, working with faculty mentor Dr. Gordon Carlson from the Department of Communication Studies.

“Students from my communications classes provided dialogue and voice work for a project,” she explained. “They partnered with art and design students for graphics work and applied technologies for computer programming, and they created a computer game. It was just really cool to see people from different fields working together on a project.”

This type of collaboration will be expected of many students once they begin their professional careers, but it is often overlooked in traditional coursework, where students are focused on their specific discipline.

“The interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the event, along with the inclusivity of SACAD, is what makes SACAD so special,” Cruz said.

The amount of collaborative behind-the-scenes work required for a successful event is an example of what SACAD promotes at FHSU. The tireless efforts, dedication, and passion shown by everyone are a testament to John Heinrichs’ vision and would not be possible without the continued commitment from faculty and staff leaders.

For anyone wanting to experience SACAD, next year’s event is tentatively scheduled for April 26, 2023, in FHSU’s Memorial Union.

We would like to hear what you think about the content in this issue of ROAR Magazine. Contact us at FHSUNews@fhsu.edu.