News Archive

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

The saying "bloom where you are planted" may have ideated from the journey of Kimberly Klappert Spead '04. The fine art/design graduate moved away from the area 17 years ago, seeking adventure in the mountain west. Today, the small business owner and entrepreneur runs a trendy full-service flower business, complete with a show-stopping mobile flower truck.

Monday, February 5, 2024

The Westminster College Planetarium will host four new shows this spring.

Two showings of “Out There” will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 7, and Friday, Feb. 16. The audience will experience the vast array of the universe and the recently discovered planets.  With the world's most powerful telescopes, participants will explore more of what the universe has to offer. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

“Max Goes to the Moon” will be shown on Wednesday, Feb. 28, and Friday, March 15. This fun show focuses on a dog named Max and a young girl who take the first trip to the Moon since the Apollo era. Along the way they learn sophisticated science topics that are explained to kids and adults in an approachable and fun way. In the end, the travelers inspire nations of the world to come together and build a Moon colony and reflect on the beauty of Earth. Recommended for ages 5 and up.

“Totality!” will be presented on Wednesday, March 27, and Friday, April 5, in advance of a total eclipse occurring on April 8. Everyone in the continental U.S. will experience at least a partial solar eclipse on April 8, and this show will explain how eclipses happen and how to safely view these rare occurrences. The next solar eclipse to cross the U.S. is in 2045, so don’t miss this show. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

“Cosmic Mashups” will be featured on Wednesday, April 24, and Friday, May 3. This show will explore supermassive black holes and how the merging of galaxies activates galactic centers. This full-dome film was produced by Fiske Planetarium. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

All shows begin at 6 p.m. The Westminster College Planetarium is located in room 116 of the Hoyt Science Center.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Westminster College neuroscience major Taylor Harman earned a Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research grant to analyze amphetamine and nicotine use and examine how those stimulants influence anxiety in male rats.

Harman, a senior honors student from Edinburg, Pa., used the grant to fund her research project “Does Stimulus History Affect the Anxiety-Like Response to Nicotine in Male Rats?”

Harman examined how the history of amphetamine exposure can influence the anxiety-like response to nicotine in male rats.

“I was interested in studying these effects and how they relate to an ADHD model. The results of this study could be used to evaluate why individuals who have ADHD, and use amphetamine, are more likely to use nicotine and how the use of amphetamine and/or nicotine could cause anxiety-like behavior,” said Harman.

The grant enabled Harman to conduct personal research and further her education through hands-on experiences and investigation.

“Performing research has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding for how we go from a question to creating an experiment to explore the question in mind,” she said. “It has also allowed me to gain more confidence in literature review and data analyses, which will be important in medical school and as a physician to be able to read and understand new studies and treatments that are being published, as well as perform further research of my own.”

Harman's research mentor was Dr. Deanne Buffalari, associate professor of neuroscience and psychology at Westminster.

Westminster’s Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research financially supports undergraduate research through various grants aimed at either the undertaking of research and creative projects at Westminster College or the external presentation and dissemination of research and creative works at conferences.

For more information on the Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research, contact director Dr. Patrick Lackey at ugresearch@westminster.edu.

For more information about the neuroscience program at Westminster, visit www.westminster.edu/neuroscience.
 

Monday, January 29, 2024

Westminster College attended the 34th annual American Model United Nations National Conference (AMUN) in Chicago last fall, bringing home an award for their representation of China.

This year 29 students traveled to Chicago to compete with thousands of students from over 70 colleges and universities. Westminster’s students represented China, Hungary and Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. Westminster has participated in the AMUN conference since 2009, making this the 15th consecutive year of attendance.

Westminster’s China delegation was represented on eight committees, while Hungary and North Korea each participated in five. Delegations were given several topics to pursue including humanitarian decisions for natural disasters, prohibition of development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons and more.

The four-day conference included committee meetings, press conferences, speeches and debates. Alliances were made between countries and resolutions were presented as topics became more involved. Emergency meetings were held day and night to mimic the actions of the actual United Nations with their procedures and unpredictable schedules.

Delegates McKenzie Means and Shannon Mullan won the Outstanding Delegation Award for their exceptional representation of China in the General Assembly, Second Committee.

“Within the four days of the conference, we wrote resolutions, gave many speeches, negotiated with other delegates and even held a press conference,” said Means, a sophomore political science major from Meadville, Pa. “I am so proud of the work Shannon and I completed and I am very grateful to be awarded an Outstanding Delegation Award for all our hard work throughout the conference.”

“We were extremely shocked about winning, we really struggled through the conference to get other delegates to cooperate,” said Mullan, an exchange student from Antrim, Northern Ireland. “However, perseverance, continuous speeches and continuous confidence in the committee room definitely paid off.”

Christina Loewe, a junior from Austin, Texas, is the president of Westminster’s Model UN organization and is double majoring in international studies and political science. The permanent head delegate this year was Victoria Valcarcel-Matos, a junior from Winter Springs, Fla., double majoring in marketing and professional sales and mathematics.

“I think that the most valuable thing about attending as president of the club and in a security council is all the practice we get in public speaking and overall building relationships with the other countries throughout negotiations with them,” said Loewe.

Friday, January 26, 2024

Twelve Westminster College instrumentalists have been selected to perform in the 76th annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Honors Band, which will perform Feb. 2-4 at Grove City College. A public concert will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4, in the Pew Fine Arts Center on the college’s campus.

Monday, January 22, 2024

Lawrence and Mercer counties are rich with internship and employment opportunities, and area business leaders will showcase those offerings at a regional Internship Day from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, in the Witherspoon Rooms of McKelvey Campus Center on Westminster College’s campus.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Westminster College’s Foster Art Gallery is currently hosting a drawing exhibition, “Other-Worldly,” which presents experimental, traditional and multimedia drawings that explore how the mystical and spiritual can be captured within art. The exhibition runs through March 1.

Friday, January 12, 2024

Westminster College has named 397 students to the fall 2023 dean's list. The dean's list recognizes full-time undergraduate students who achieved a 3.6 grade point average or higher in a minimum of 12 semester hours.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Since graduating from Mother Fair 16 years ago, Bryan Bischof ’08 has earned a PhD, traveled the world, authored a book, developed a system to help you identify your favorite coffee flavor, walked every street* in Berkeley, CA, and still found time to talk to his undergrad alma mater about how classes at Westminster helped form connections to the AI magic he works on developing today. 

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

The Office of Professional Development and Community Engagement at Westminster College is launching a new educational initiative this January and local residents interested in effecting positive change in the community are invited to participate.

Beginning on Thursday, Jan. 18, the seven-week workshop “Changing the World, One Community at a Time” will run each Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the McGill Memorial Library on Westminster’s campus. The final session will be held Thursday, Feb. 29.

Open to community members and Westminster students, the workshop will challenge how participants think about how small- and large-scale change happens in the world and will feature a variety of speakers, hands-on experiences and active bridge-building between Westminster’s campus and the local community. Participants will reflect on their perspectives on how change happens and evaluate the assets and challenges of their community, ultimately contributing to a small, collaborative project that feeds a big picture for growth.

“The goal for this workshop is to foster changemaking and to serve as a springboard for future collaborations between Westminster College and the community,” said Dr. Helen Boylan, faculty fellow for community engagement and coordinator of the program.

This pilot program is open to any Lawrence or Mercer County community members for an administrative fee of $25. The fee can be waived for those with need. For additional information about the program and to enroll, please contact Boylan at 724-494-4737 or boylanhm@westminster.edu.