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Western will celebrate Scholars Week, an annual campus event showcasing the best of student scholarship, virtually, for the second year in a row, but with a new and improved platform allowing for a live-steaming thesis competition and a way of interacting with Poster Session participants.

Held May 17 – 21 as an online gallery, the Scholars Showcase features a Three-Minute Thesis graduate student competition as well as a virtual poster session — supplemented by multimedia — of outstanding scholarly research and creative works by graduate and undergraduate students from across disciplines, programs and departments at Western. Submissions deadline has been extended to the end of the day Friday, May 14.

This year’s Scholars Showcase presentations include everything from dance student video performances and a study of river otters’ dietary intake of European green crab on two Makah Indian Reservation rivers, to a computer science study of machine learning as related to audio classification and sound event detection.

Scholars Week 2021 is intended to honor student success while reaffirming the university’s commitment to academic achievement despite the challenges of remote learning, or limited face-to-face instruction, during the pandemic.

In years past, in-person events could not easily accommodate video or other multimedia components. Virtual Scholars Week provides that opportunity, as well as an occasion for participants to invite others, including those outside the Western community, to view their individual presentations.

Scholars Week Committee Chair Professor Maria McLeod said the committee’s decision to proceed with a second year of online events came in response to enthusiastic support from students, faculty, administrators and staff who are dedicated to continuing the 21-year tradition of Scholars Week as a means of honoring student achievement and faculty mentorship.

“As an online event, Scholars Week 2021 offers a venue for our vibrant student body, researching, creating and dedicating themselves to academic achievement and discovery,” said McLeod, an associate professor of journalism. “I’m especially happy we’re able to provide a platform to celebrate their success.”

To submit to the Scholars Showcase by May 14, or register as a visitor, go to wwu.edu/scholars. For more information about Scholars Week, contact scholars.week@wwu.edu.

Scholars Week, an annual celebration of student research and creative activities at Western, was created by a unanimous resolution of the Faculty Senate in November 1999. Originally envisioned as “Scholars Day,” the event quickly transformed into “Scholars Week” to accommodate a diverse series of events highlighting the scholarship and creativity of Western students across a variety of disciplines. Financial support for Scholars Week is provided by the �������� President, Provost, Office of Undergraduate Education, Offices of Research and Sponsored Programs and the Graduate School, Foundation, and academic colleges and departments.