Associate Professor, Cataloging Librarian, and Chair of The University Research Council, Aubrey Iglesias, spoke with KC Counts about the week's scheduled events. You can listen to their conversation by clicking the "listen" button above. You can visit the RCW link here
KC:
Let me start by asking you just to give us a brief description of really, what research and creativity week is, for the layperson who's listening.
Aubrey:
It's really about showcasing the rich scholarly and creative activity ecosystem that defines NMSU, and so with over 25 events across the campus, the week highlights the students, postdocs, and contributions in arts, sciences, humanities and beyond.
KC:
I think that's one of the things that when I first came to campus, I thought oh, this is like the most scholarly of scholars. It's probably not for someone like me. What would you say to someone about taking part in researching creativity week who maybe doesn't know that they might find a spot where they belong.
Aubrey:
Well, due to the varied events taking place in the week, I really think there's something or some things for everybody. For example, research is there, of course. We have this year two symposia taking place with the graduates as well as undergraduates. In addition to the post docs talking about the research. But beyond research, this year there's an increased focus on the arts, so there's a wide, wide variety of arts related events, so there's also musical performances, theatrical performances, there's a film screening, there’s artwork that will be showcased. So this year the main theme is ascent to R1, and it's inspired by NMSU's Carnegie classification designation to R1 status and it will be part of our critical dialogue session. It's a discussion about transformational issues that the university is facing. So this year there will be a panel - a lunchtime panel discussion facilitated by Doctor Cifuentes called “Ascent to R1, Which Paths Will We Take?
KC:
That was something that I can remember for years, the university working towards that. So what can you tell me about finally achieving that and what it means to students on campus and faculty and the community at large?
Aubrey:
That's a huge question. And again, we'll be unpacking that at this panel discussion that brings together panelist experts. I'm hoping [all the answers] and the envisioning of the future because there's a lot to unpack there, yes. But with NMSU being recognized with this R1 status, it really means that we're being recognized as being part of the top 7% of all four- year universities in the United States.
KC:
Now, do all of these events associated with research and creativity week take place all across the campus, or is there kind of one central location where people should congregate and find out where to go from there.
Aubrey:
Dare I say both. So for the the research focus, we encourage the public and community wide to attend. It's your chance to interact with researchers, see what's happening and have that dialogue with the researchers at The Corbett Center on Thursday and Fridays, where the undergraduates’ symposium as well as the graduate symposium will take place. If you go to our website, regarding the event, you'll see the variety, but otherwise there are events across campus and off campus, so on campus beyond Corbett Center, for example, at the Arts Museum, we have several events taking place, including one of our keynote speakers, Ramona Emerson. There'll be a reception for her at the University Art Museum on Wednesday evening and then outside of the university there will be different events for RCW, including, for example, there's a poetry event at Grounded Café Friday.
KC:
So, is there a spot online you’d recommend people go just as a starting point?
Aubrey:
Oh yes, for sure, a good place to start is simply by Googling or some other search for NMSU Research and Creativity Week. It should take you to a description of the of the week as well as a link to our zoom events platform to access the full schedule of events.
KC:
What have we left out that you think is important for folks to know about Research and Creativity Week?
Aubrey:
Definitely that being student centered is another priority of this year. Something new is there's an awards reception at Pete's Patio for the award winners of the presentations for students, postdocs, undergraduates, as well as graduates that really celebrates their work, but we also have several keynote speakers I mentioned earlier, Ramona Emerson, the author that will be having a reception thought Art Museum. But there's also Doctor Talitha Washington from Howard. We also have our faculty and plenary speaker, doctor Bertha, Bermudez Tapia, and she'll be presenting “Devolution by Design, the Dismantling of Asylum and the Normalization of Violence at the U.S./Mexico Border” that will be held on Monday, April 28th during lunch time.
