On February 22 and 23, Bellarmine University will host dozens of college honors program students from around Kentucky as they present their research. The Kentucky Honors Roundtable, created in the 1980s, is a consortium of honors programs and colleges from universities throughout the state. The roundtable convenes twice a year in order to allow students to present their research and creative work while faculty members exchange ideas about best practices. This is Bellarmine's first time hosting the roundtable since 1990. The gathering will include 72 students and 21 faculty or staff members from honors programs or colleges at these 10 Kentucky institutions:
  • Bellarmine University
  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Lindsey Wilson College
  • Madisonville Community College
  • Morehead State University
  • Murray State University
  • Thomas More University
  • University of Kentucky
  • University of Louisville
  • Western Kentucky University
On Saturday, students will take part in a day of poster sessions and student presentations on a wide range of subjects including art, creativity, ecology, education, film, finance, healthcare, history, literature, media studies, music, philosophy, public policy, religion, science, sociology and sports.  "It is a great pleasure and privilege to welcome honors students, faculty and administrators from across the Commonwealth of Kentucky to our spring meeting," said Dr. Jon Blandford, director of Bellarmine's Honors Program and associate professor of English. "This is Bellarmine's first time hosting the Honors Roundtable in nearly 30 years, and we are thrilled to have everyone on campus next weekend." During the event, 16 Bellarmine students will present their work. "I'm very excited to learn more about what other honors students across the state are working on," said Katie Kaufling, a senior psychology major from Louisville who will present on how parenting styles affect a student's college success. "I'm also looking forward to sharing my own thesis research. I presented what was essentially a proposal at the last Honors Roundtable in September and people expressed a lot of interest in what I was working on. This time, I'll be able to share results and applications from my completed study." "What I am most looking forward to at the roundtable this year is having the opportunity to show others that chasing your dreams is possible," said John Klapheke, a sophomore communication and design, art and technology dual major from Louisville who will present on a recent internship he completed with Lego. "This is what the Honors Program is all about -- achieving a goal and giving back to a community of doers." Margaret Mahoney SymposiumAs part of the event, former Bellarmine history professor Margaret Mahoney - who died last year - will be honored on Friday night with a new event bearing her name. The Margaret Mahoney Symposium will feature a discussion on higher education: what it means, why it matters and how it might change in response to 21st century issues and challenges. Mahoney, who came to Bellarmine in 1958, led Bellarmine's honors program, originally called the Cardinal Sections, from 1965 until 1992. Alumni of the Cardinal Sections and Honors Program have been invited to the event, which will conclude with a trivia night led by the elected members of the Honors Student Advisory Board. Blandford says he hopes the symposium honoring Mahoney becomes an annual event, honoring her many contributions to higher education at Bellarmine and throughout Kentucky. Bellarmine student presentationsCassidy Adams • “A Retrospective: A study in black and white (Visual Art: Painting)" Kandis Arlinghaus • “Impacts of Ultraviolet Light Exposure on the Activity of Antioxidant Enzymes in the Coelomocytes of the sea urchins Lytechinus variegatus and Arbacia punctulata”Noah Braden • “Predictability of Mid-to-Long Term Price Direction Following Price Shocks Unassociated with Regularly Scheduled Earnings Calls in Domestic Equity Markets”Hailee Bray • “Alterations in the GSK-3β/δ-Catenin Signaling Pathway in the Development of At-Level Spinal Cord Injury Pain”Gabby Davis • “The Framing of Recovery and Anorexia Nervosa Treatment Willingness”Richard Dickerson • “Planck's Method in the Philosophical Light of Nietzschean Critiques of Science”Caleb Elmore • “The Political Animal: On the Why, the How, and the Who of the City”Kennedy Erwin • “Impacts of pH exposure on the germination of the freshwater bryozoan Pectinatella magnifica”Katie Kaufling • “Exploring Associations Between College Student Academic Achievement, Worry, Personality, and Parental Warmth and Control”Julia King • “The Unique Identity of the Korean Sound”John Klapheke • “The Lego Design Internship”Sebastian Kontic • “R&D in the Accounting Landscape”Eli Megibben • “A Historical Analysis of Narratives of Displacement”Trevor Stantliff • “Investigations of the Mechanism of Action for Lung Cancer Cell Death by a 4-Trifluoromethoxy Substituted Chalcone Derivative”Cat Terrell • “Effects of Language in Music on Memory”Mary Wurtz • “The Korean Wave Floods North Korea: Foreign Media and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea”