Research and academics are paramount at the Mount David Summit

Jeff Sturgis '69, left, listens as Destany Franklin '14 discusses her neuroscience research during the 2014 Mount David Summit. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Jeff Sturgis ’69, left, listens as Destany Franklin ’14 discusses her neuroscience research during the 2014 Mount David Summit. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

The 14th Mount David Summit, Bates College’s annual celebration of student academic achievement, begins with a short ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, in the Perry Atrium of Pettengill Hall, 4 Andrews Road (Alumni Walk).

Comprising events taking place throughout the afternoon in Pettengill, the Mount David Summit is open to the public at no cost. For more information, please visit bates.edu/summit or contact Kerry O’Brien at kobrien@bates.edu or 207-753-6952.

“The Mount David Summit is a juggernaut of intellectual energy and talent packed into one day and evening,” says Matthew Auer, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “This is Bates’ version of an academic Olympics, and the event never disappoints.”

Students chat and crowds move through the Perry Atrium at Bates College during the 2014 Mount David Summit. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

Students chat and crowds move through the Perry Atrium at Bates College during the 2014 Mount David Summit. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

More than 380 students will participate in this year’s summit. During concurrent sessions throughout the afternoon, students will present research posters, short talks, panel discussions, a photography exhibition, literary readings and several film screenings.

The summit culminates in a performance by the Bates Dance Company at 7:30 p.m. in Schaeffer Theatre (admission charged; see bates.edu/events) that features the work of students in choreography as well as lighting and costume design.

Here are examples of the many summit presentations:

  • Students will present more than 110 research posters in African studies, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, classical and medieval studies, education, environmental studies, geology, history, mathematics, neuroscience, philosophy, physics, politics, psychology, sociology and Spanish. Topics range from tuberculosis in Lewiston to the role of lead in mental illness, and from sports and apartheid in South Africa to computer modeling and robotics;
  • Psychology majors will discuss learning differences, performance and pressure in sports, anxiety and depression among veterans, and Facebook and self-worth; students in German and in European studies will examine Jewish museums in Poland, educational testing in Germany, and Czech secularism and national identity; and classics students will talk about aspects of Roman law, from gladiators to the debt owed by early Christian law to Roman models;
  • Creative-writing students will read poetry and fiction, and dance majors will discuss how they develop material;
  • Rhetoric students will screen short videos in which they analyze Hollywood films;
  • And research conducted with community partners and for the public good will be discussed by Community-Engaged Research Fellows who work through the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.