BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY

In Brief

BGSU Research Conference highlights public benefit

Faculty and graduate student endeavors, both scholarly and creative, will be showcased at the sixth annual BGSU Research Conference Thursday (Nov. 1) in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union.

Sponsored by the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research, the conference theme this year is “Extending the Reach: Achievements for the Public Good.”

Posters representing research, scholarly activities and artistic endeavors may be viewed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 202B Union.

Following a reception at 9:30 a.m. outside the Union Theater, the introduction and opening session begin at 10 a.m. in the theater. Dr. Heinz Bulmahn, dean of the Graduate College and vice provost for research, will moderate a discussion of “Achievements for the Public Good: Examples from BGSU,” focusing on how University research extends beyond academia to the public sphere.

A luncheon will be held at noon in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom, featuring a performance by Dr. Steven Cornelius and the Afro-Caribbean Drum Ensemble. The 2007 Olscamp Research Award and Outstanding Young Scholar Award winners will also be recognized. Reservations can be made by email or phone at spar@bgsu.edu or 2-2481.

A presenters’ reception commences at 3 p.m. in 202B Union. Attendees will be able to view the posters, talk with researchers and enjoy fellowship and light refreshments.

For more on the conference, visit www.bgsu.edu/offices/spar/Research_Conference/BGSU_RC_2007/ConferenceEvents2007.html


Nigeria vis-à-vis the Cold War, neo-colonialism focus of talk

Dr. Apollos Nwauwa, history and Africana studies, will discuss "The Mind Game: Nigerian Universities, Neo-colonialism, and the Cold War, 1960-90" at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in 207 Bowen-Thompson Student Union.

Nwauwa will discuss how the Cold War impacted Nigeria's universities and nation-building process, and the ways in which the universities that emerged in a neo-colonial and Cold War context are Nigerian. He will also examine what Nigeria's non-alignment policy and practice can tell us about foreign policy and elite attitudes.

Nwauwa’s teaching and research focus on modern Africa, especially colonial, post-colonial (neo-colonial) and intellectual aspects of African history. He is the author of Imperialism, Academe, and Nationalism: Britain and University Education for Africans, 1860-1960, and has published essays in several international journals, including History in Africa, Asian and African Studies, and Cahiers d'Études Africaines. Currently a Fellow at the campus Institute for the Study of Culture and Society (ICS), he is working on a number of projects, one of which explores the impact of the Cold War on education and elite formation in Africa.

His talk, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Artists and Scholars in Residence Series sponsored by ICS. Support has come from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences. For more information, call 2-0585.