McLauchlan's Moldovan Musings: USFSP Student Research Colloquium: featuring MOLDOVA

The Poynter Library is organizing a monthly student research colloquium series at University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
As readers of this blog, you know how proud I am of the students who participated in my Moldova Study Abroad program, Spring Break 2013.

There were many aspects of that course that were unique/special -- the Joint Course with ULIM, that provided meaningful opportunities for my students to interact with students from Moldova; the civic engagement/service learning aspect of the course, that provided an opportunity for students to learn more about social issues and public policy formation in Moldova through the lens of NGOs and civil society, with the opportunity to interact with underserved populations in direct service activities; and, the subject of this blog post: student research!

Students produced significant research papers, presented that research at international conferences, and, yesterday, presented their research on campus at the Poynter Library.

I am thrilled that now they are PUBLISHED authors, having their research published in a Moldovan social science journal.

I presented the students with their copy of the journals at the event. Thank you again to Rector Galben, Vice Rector Moldovan-Batrinac, Dean Coada, and Professor Patlis at ULIM!

Six of the students worked with me over the summer to revise and re-submit their research papers and to prepare them for publication.

Four of those students were able to present their research at a well-attended colloquium in Poynter Corner, at Poynter Library. From the announcement:

The monthly Student Research Colloquium Series continues on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at noon at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library with a special focus on Moldova. Students will present research they conducted during a study abroad course this spring (photo above) in the Eastern European country, taught by USFSP Political Science Professor Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, Ph.D. The presenters and their topics are: Master of Liberal Arts student Marissa Wyant,"Moldova's Path to Accession to the European Union;" Master of Arts student Lauren Shumate, "Judicial Independence, the Rule of Law, and Human Rights: Assessing Justice Sector Reforms in Serbia and Moldova;" International Affairs undergraduate Jared Smith, "International Law Enforcement and the Prosecution of Human Trafficking in Moldova" and Political Science undergraduate Sebastian Osorio, "Moldova's Cultural Tides: A Case for Nationalism." The event, the second in the Colloquium Series, is free and open to the public.