What is the Celebration of Scholarship?
Cornerstone University's Celebration of Scholarship Day is an opportunity for students to share some of the best of their scholarly endeavors with all members of the university and broader community. Student presentations are sponsored by faculty to promote original contributions to diverse areas within the arts, sciences, humanities, and more.
What counts as scholarship for the purposes of this event?
In light of the university's adoption of the Boyer model of scholarship, presentations of scholarship at this year's Celebration of Scholarship Day may include the following:
Readings and discussion of academic papers that reflect an exemplary level of student scholarship according to the standards and practices of the students' major division.
Poster presentations based on student research.
Academic presentations promoting integration or application of exemplary scholarly activity in the student's major area.
Creative work by advanced students in the areas of media, communication, and creative writing.
Art presentations displaying students' skills and expertise in their chosen medium.
Musical presentations performed by students.
When and where will the Celebration of Scholarship take place?
Cornerstone University's Celebration of Scholarship Day will take place throughout campus on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
Who is eligible to participate?
All Cornerstone University students are eligible and encouraged to participate in the event. This includes undergraduate students, graduate students, fully online students, seminary students, etc. The event is for the students and we want you to be involved.
How long are presentations?
Oral presentations should be 10-15 minutes long, allowing a brief time for questions at the end of each presentation. For a paper presentation, this equates to a seven-to-nine-page double-spaced paper, 1" margins (with endnotes). Creative presentations, depending on the type, may dispense with the time for questions if such a time would be irrelevant. Poster presentations require the student to stand in front of their work, presented on a poster board, for up to 2 hours, while folks interested in learning about their work walk by and informally engage with the presenter.
When do proposals need to be submitted?
All proposals must be submitted by March 1, 2025. Students will be notified by March 15, 2025 regarding the status of their application.
What should I wear?
Students presenting should dress in business casual attire.
Why do I have to have a faculty sponsor?
Every participant who submits a proposal must seek out a faculty mentor prior to submission. A faculty mentor will support and advise the student as they prepare their work for presentation. The faculty mentor should also consider how the student's work represents a high level of scholarship according to the integration of the Boyer model in the division's standards and practices.
I am presenting a poster presentation for Celebration of Scholarship. When, where, and how do I prepare and share my presentation?
Foam poster boards (40” H X 60” W) will be provided for each student to use on the day of the event. The poster boards will be set up in Christ Chapel. Students are required to set up their presentation before their presentation time on the poster boards displayed on easels. You may use one of the poster templates found at this link or create your own poster. There are no requirements for how your work is presented. Pushpins will be provided for hanging posters/art presentations. The foam poster boards are not for the students to keep. Their work must be easily removed following the presentation time. If you have further questions about presentation time, location, or other details, please refer to the e-mail that you received from Celebration of Scholarship regarding your presentation.
Can I get access to the foam poster board prior to the event?
The 40” X 60” foam poster boards that are used for Celebration of Scholarship are backing boards for the poster presentation to be temporarily hung on during the event. The students must be able to set up and tear down their presentation within 5-10 minutes before and after their presentation time. There will be two separate presentation sessions at Celebration of Scholarship, such that one group of ~60 poster presentations will occur in the morning session from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM and then another group of ~60 poster presentations will occur in the afternoon session from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM. Presenters will be assigned one of the two presentation sessions and not both and presentations will only be hung during one of the two presentation sessions and not all day. Poster boards are not provided to the presenters before the event since the boards will be used by multiple presenters on the day of the event.
Who is responsible for the cost of printing the poster?
This is the students and/or faculty sponsors responsibility. Celebration of Scholarship does not have funds to pay for poster printing.
I am presenting an oral presentation for Celebration of Scholarship. When, where, and how do I prepare and share my presentation?
Oral presentations are typically created in Microsoft PowerPoint but can be completed in various different ways. The discipline will define the presentation style and type. Please work with your faculty sponsor to present your work in the most appropriate way. Students will have 10-15 minutes to present their topic orally in front of an audience. Props are welcome and encouraged. Electronic presentations will need to be e-mailed to celebrationofscholarship@cornerstone.edu the evening before the event. If you have further questions about presentation time, location, or other details, please refer to the e-mail that you received from Celebration of Scholarship regarding your presentation.
Is there a presentation number and location assigned to each presenter?
The number and location will be assigned and is not allowed to be changed. The assigned number can be found in the e-mail correspondence from Celebration of Scholarship which will be sent approximately two weeks before the event. The presentation number can also be found on the schedule, which will be published on the Celebration of Scholarship website.
Should I invite my parents/guardians?
Yes, all parents, guardians, siblings, friends, employers, etc. are welcome to attend this event.
What is the event hashtag?
You're encouraged to use #COS2025 on social media to generate community dialogue about the event.
How long is the event? When is the awards ceremony?
The event will typically run from 9 AM - 5 PM. Classes are cancelled during this time, so all students, faculty, and staff are able to attend the event. The awards ceremony will take place the following day (April 25, 2025) during chapel (10 AM - 11 AM). If you presented your work at the event, please plan on attending the awards ceremony as you will automatically be entered into several awards.
How do I win an award?
A few awards are distributed on an application basis. This means you must apply in order to be eligible. The remainder and majority of the awards are distributed on a discipline basis. This means you are automatically entered and will be judge based on your presentation quality. Please visit the Proposal and Award Application tab to learn more.
Who do I contact with questions about Celebration of Scholarship?
Students can contact faculty members with questions. Faculty can contact event chair James Sackett via celebrationofscholarship@cornerstone.edu