Honors Program graduates present research

The Judson College Honors Program hosted project presentations on May 22 in the Adams-Armstrong Lecture Hall of the Charlotte G. Lowder Science Building. The program celebrated the scholarly achievements of academically distinguished students enrolled in the Honors Program. To participate in the Honors Program, students must maintain a 3.5 grade point average and be recommended by a faculty member who serves as a project sponsor. Students completing all Honors Program requirements receive special recognition at graduation and their works are bound and displayed in Judson’s Bowling Library.

Elise Urban, Winter Bruner, and Kathryn Hamner
Elise Urban, Winter Bruner, and Kathryn Hamner

Friday’s Honors Program event began with remarks from Dr. Scott Bullard, Senior Vice-President and Dean of the College. Judson music and psychology double-major, Courtney Tindale, performed a musical selection chosen to celebrate the event. Susan Jones, Senior Vice-President and Dean of Students, offered an invocation before the students presented their research. Judson seniors, Winter Bruner, Katie Hamner, and Elise Urban presented research as the 2015 distinguished Honors Program graduates.

Winter Bruner, chemistry, biology, and psychology triple-major, of Dothan, AL, presented her research entitled “Identification of Novel Factors that Regulate DNA Replication Origin Specification.” Elise Urban, biology and chemistry double-major, of Theodore, AL, presented her research project entitled “A Genetic Screen to Identify Novel Regulators of Oogenesis in the Fruit Fly, Drosophila melanogaster.” Both of these honors students researched the Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly, to learn more about potential links between mutations in DNA replication that lead to cancer.  Bruner and Urban were guided in their research by faculty sponsor Dr. Kristopher McConnell, Assistant Professor of Biology.

Elise Urban (left) and Winter Bruner (right) pictured with their Honors Program project chair, Dr. Kris McConnell
Elise Urban (left) and Winter Bruner (right) pictured with their Honors Program project chair, Dr. Kris McConnell

Katie Hamner, business administration major of Hoover, AL, who also double minors in biology and accounting, presented her research entitled “The Convergence of GAAP and IFRS: Past, Present, and Future.” To examine the differences between international and U.S. accounting practices, Hamner interviewed several leaders in the accounting field. Her research findings engage the ramifications of the convergence of U.S. accounting practices to international requirements. Hamner was guided in her research by faculty sponsors Dr. Joann Williams, Associate Professor of Business, and Mrs. Kristi Metty, Accounting Faculty.

Katie Hamner with her Honors Program committee, Dr. Joann Williams (left) and Mrs. Kristi Metty (right)
Katie Hamner with her Honors Program committee, Dr. Joann Williams (left) and Mrs. Kristi Metty (right)

The Honors Program Committee is chaired by Dr. Lesley Sheek, Associate Professor of Education, and other members include Dr. Scott Bullard, Senior Vice-President and Dean of the College, Ex Officio; Dr. Wanda Hayes, Assistant Professor and Nursing Program Director; Dr. Kristopher McConnell, Assistant Professor of Biology; Dr. Jeremy Olson, Assistant Professor and Department Head of Chemistry; Dr. Stacey Parham, Assistant Professor of English; and Mr. John Robertson, Instructor of Piano and Music Theory.

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