Symposium History
1981
First annual event held on April 3, 1981. Envisioned by Dr. Ronald W. Collins, former Provost. Ira M. Wheatley, History and Philosophy, provided leadership. Featured 17 students and 19 faculty members from nine College of Arts and Sciences departments.
1982
Luncheon and keynote speaker added to event. A complete listing on keynote speakers over the years can be downloaded here (pdf file).
1990
Posters displays added.
1992
Participation expanded with students from College of Education and the College of Technology included.
1993
College of Business and the College of Health and Human Services nominated students for participation.
1995
Student emcees added to the luncheon program.
1996
Student designers involved in design process.
2000
Office of Financial Aid and the Graduate School began providing up to 20 University Fellowship Awards for Symposium Participants to graduating participants to encourage them to continue their graduate studies EMU. Dedicated website launched.
2001
The Barry A. Fish Scholarship and the Ronald W Collins Memorial Endowed Scholarship for Undergraduate Symposium Participants endowed to provide financial awards for continued undergraduate studies.
2002
Webcasting of select presentations began with Symposium XXII.
2005
The Symposium proudly celebrated its 25th event. In honor of the event’s longevity, a new scholarship series was announced and the event also provided the opportunity for 25 select Symposium and University alumni to return to campus for the festivities.
2007
The annual event moved to the new EMU Student Center. Genesis, a bronze sculpture by artist and Symposium XXVII keynote speaker Brent Collins, was dedicated and placed on permanent display at the center.
2008
The nominations process was changed to allow only online submissions, thereby streamlining the approval process and making both web and print publication easier.
2010
The Symposium reaches the historic mark of 30 events! Over the past three decades, more than 4,000 students have had the opporunity to share their research in front of their peers, faculty, amiinimstration, community, and family. We have grown from 17 presenters in the first Symposium to over 300 in 2009!
