- two nights at the conference hotel,
- all conference meals, the Conference Abstracts,
- conference materials,
- and Heartland Conference T-shirts.
Download a four-page PDF informational brochure
Complete and submit the registration form online
Download a PDF of the registration form
(Note: this form cannot be submitted electronically, but you can enter
your information into the PDF before you print it out)To receive a packet of registration materials by mail, contact Jeanne Gerhard,
by e-mail at jgerhard@ksu.edu or by phone at (785) 532-6137.CONFERENCE DEADLINES
Registration: Friday, August 22, 2008
Abstracts: Friday, August 22, 2008
Cancellations must be received in writing by Friday, August 29.
GRADUATE FAIR INFORMATION [table of contents]
If you would like to attend the Heartland Conference Graduate Recruitment Fair on Friday night as a representative from an institution, please see this information page, which includes a link to the registration form.
ABSTRACTS [table of contents]
Abstracts, in MS Word, for both oral and poster presentations should be sent via e-mail by Friday, August 22nd to Shukura Bakari-Cozart, shukura.cozart@wichita.edu. Abstracts must be 250 words or less. See the informational PDF for instructions on submitting abstracts.ORAL PRESENTATIONS
The time allotted for each presentation is 15 minutes with 5 minutes for questions and 10 minutes of transition and set-up time between presentations (please note that this is a change from last year).
There will be a PC laptop and a projector in every room, and all presenters are welcome to use them for PowerPoint. We suggest bringing presentations on a CD-ROM, because other media may not be accessible by every machine. We are unable to guarantee that the projectors or computers will work as planned for everyone, but we will try to accommodate as many people as possible.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Scholars, please be sure to save your presentations as a Microsoft PowerPoint 97-2003 presentation. While some laptops at the conference may have PowerPoint 2007, some might not. Our goal is compatibility, no matter what version of Windows or PowerPoint is on the laptops. If you are using a version of PowerPoint prior to 2007, simply save your document to a flash drive or CD. If you are using PowerPoint 2007, follow these instructions:1. Click on the "Office" Button.
2. Move the arrow over "Save As". You will see several options. Click on
"PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation".
3. Navigate to the flash drive or CD you will be saving presentation to and click "Save".POSTER PRESENTATIONS
We are limited to 30 poster presentations. Presentations will be made on a standard, tri-fold presentation board (tri-fold 4'x3' boards can be requested with registration for $10).
MKN HEARTLAND SCHOLARSHIP [table of contents]
MKN has established an annual $500 scholarship for Heartland Conference presenters. Beginning with the 2002 conference, any student who has presented research and who is, at the time the scholarship is awarded, enrolled in a graduate program is eligible to apply for the scholarship. Proof of having presented and graduate enrollment and must be submitted before the conference. Presenters at this year's conference will be eligible for a future scholarship.► Click for a PDF on applying for this year's scholarship ◄
PRE-CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITIES [table of contents]
Personal Statement Writing (Friday, 9/19, 1-3 p.m.)
Participants in this workshop will engage in activities designed to help develop and refine their personal statements. The focus will be on helping participants present themselves positively, effectively, and accurately to the faculty assessing their graduate applications. The workshop will be particularly valuable for participants who will be applying to graduate programs this Fall.
Participants will have an opportunity to have their personal statements individually reviewed. Participants who have drafts of their essays are encouraged to bring them to the conference.
The workshop presenter, Michael Heppler, [see bio] has extensive experience with graduate school admissions. Heppler is the Assistant Director of Student Academic Services in the Graduate School at Oklahoma State University.NSF GRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS (Friday, 9/19, 3:15-5:15 p.m)
This pre-conference workshop will make participants familiar with the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program and how to apply for it as a source of funding for graduate school.ART MUSEUM TOUR (Friday, 9/19 3:15-5:15 p.m.)
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art – Guided Tour
Cost: None -- it's FREEGet to know the new Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This special 90-minute tour experience will include an introduction to both the new landmark Bloch Building designed by famous architect Steven Holl, as well the original museum building erected in 1933. The tour provides an excellent overview of the Museum’s world-class art collections and cultural treasures. For further descriptions visit online at: http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/NelsonAtkins.cfm
NOTE: Conference participants need to register in advance for this activity. Space is limited! To register, click here to contact Dr. Vicki Landrum and sign up for the tour.
SPEAKERS [table of contents]
FRIDAY EVENING: Dr. Robert Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Dr. Rodriguez is the associate director of the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Kansas (KU). He is of Argentine heritage and is the first in his family to earn a college degree. When he was an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine, he participated in a program similar to the McNair Scholars Program. In 2005, he earned a Ph.D. in political science from KU and has been involved with TRIO programs for ten years. In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Rodriguez is also an adjunct professor in the KU departments of Latin American Studies and Political Science. He will present on the history of academic regalia. [see extended biography]SATURDAY BREAKFAST SPEAKER: Dr. Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone, Ph.D.
Dr. Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone, member of the University of Central Missouri's McNair Class of 1996, earned a BA and MA in History from Central Missouri State University, a terminal MA in Museum Science from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Kansas. Her topic is Financing Graduate School. [see extended biography]KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Elaine Richardson, Ph.D.
Dr. Elaine Richardson is a graduate of the Cleveland Public Schools and East Technical High School. She received her BA and MA in English from Cleveland State University (1991 & 1993). She went on to earn a doctorate in English Composition and Applied Linguistics from Michigan State University. She taught at the University of Minnesota’s General College for two years before joining the English Department faculty at Penn State University, where she taught for nine years before taking her current post as Professor of Literacy Studies in the College of Education at Ohio State University.Dr. Richardson has published several books. Her first book, African American Literacies, (2003, Routledge), was a significantly revised version of her dissertation, focusing on teaching writing from the point of view of African American Language and Literacy traditions. Her most recent book, Hiphop Literacies (2006 Routledge), is a study of Hiphop language use as an extension of Black folk traditions. The book she is currently writing describes her experiences growing up as a girl from the hood of Cleveland, Ohio, getting into the street life and how she climbed out of the underworld to further her education and become who she is today. That book is entitled PHD 2 PhD: Po Ho on Dope to Dr. E. [see extended biography]
SUNDAY MORNING: Panel of Graduate Students
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (subject to change) [table of contents]
Friday, September 19, 2008
1:00pm - 5:00pm Registration 1:00pm - 3:00pm Workshop: Personal Statement Writing 3:15pm - 5:15pm NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Workshop 3:15pm - 5:15pm Nelson-Atkins Art Museum Tour 6:00pm - 7:30pm Dinner and Dr. Rodriguez on Academic Regalia Welcome and Introductions 8:00pm - 10:00pm Graduate Recruitment Fair Saturday, September 20, 2008
7:30am - 8:45am Breakfast: Dr. Clifford-Napoleone on Financing Grad School 9:00am - 9:30am Poster Presentations 9:30am - 12:00pm Oral Research Presentations 12:15pm - 1:15pm Lunch (w/ trivia contest) 1:30pm - 4:30pm Oral Research Presentations 7:00pm Banquet and Keynote: Dr. Elaine Richardson After Speaker... Entertainment on your own (see below) Sunday, September 21, 2008
9:00am - 10:30am Breakfast / Final Program 10:30am Awarding of the $500 Heartland McNair Scholarship 11:00am Departure
NEARBY KANSAS CITY AREA HIGHLIGHTS [table of contents]
- * The Country Club Plaza --
- An outdoor 'museum' of Spanish architecture with fountains and sculptures, as well as shopping and eating areas. The 77th Annual Plaza Art Fair will be held here on the weekend of the 2008 Heartland Research Conference.
* The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art --- Both have free admission and are less than a half-mile from the hotel.
* Information on Blues and Jazz clubs --- World famous Kansas City Night Life!
- * The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site --
- Just over an hour from the conference hotel, the Historic Site is located at the Monroe Elementary School, which was one of the four segregated elementary schools for African-American children in Topeka, Kansas. The visual and audio displays place the struggle for equality in educational opportunity within the context of the struggle for civil rights. The site is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, contact a conference co-chair:
Dr. Kari Azevedo, McNair Scholars Program
Humphreys 127C
University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO 64093
phone number: (660) 543-4135
e-mail: kazevedo@ucmo.eduShukura Bakari-Cozart, McNair Scholars Program
1845 N. Fairmount
Wichita State University
Wichita, KS 67260-0199
phone number: (316) 978-3139
e-mail: shukura.cozart@wichita.edu
Speaker Bio Information [table of contents]
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP PRESENTER: Michael Heppler [see photo]
Michael Heppler has served Oklahoma State University since 1997. In 2004 he was promoted to Director of McNair Relations as a direct result of his work with McNair Research Scholars across the country. He has traveled throughout the United States speaking to students about successful graduate school application strategies.
He is a nationally recognized speaker on Successful Graduate/Professional School Admission Strategies. The National Society of Black Engineers, Ronald E. McNair Research Scholars, and Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program are among the list of organizations to which he has presented these strategies.
Mr. Heppler has presented at many regional and national conferences. A few of his prior appearances are the National Society of Black Engineers Region V Conference, the University of Tennessee McNair Scholars Research Conference at the Knoxville, Tennessee, and Heartland McNair Scholars Research Conference in Kansas City, Missouri.FRIDAY EVENING SPEAKER: Dr. Robert Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Dr. Rodriguez is the associate director of the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Kansas (KU). He is of Argentine heritage and is the first in his family to earn a college degree. When he was an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine, he participated in a program similar to the McNair Scholars Program. In 2005, he earned a Ph.D. in political science from KU and has been involved with TRIO programs for ten years. In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Rodriguez is also an adjunct professor in the KU departments of Latin American Studies and Political Science. Dr. Rodriguez will present on the history of academic regalia.His first book, The Regulation of Boxing: A History and Comparative Analysis of Policies Among American States, is due to be published next month. This book is an extension of Dr. Rodriguez's doctoral dissertation. His second book, which is about Latino Boxing History, is under contract with McFarland Press and scheduled for completion in the fall of 2009.
SATURDAY BREAKFAST SPEAKER: Dr. Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone, Ph.D.
Dr. Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone, member of the University of Central Missouri's McNair Class of 1996, earned a BA and MA in History from Central Missouri State University, a terminal MA in Museum Science from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Kansas. Her topic is Financing Graduate School.She teaches Anthropology at the University of Central Missouri, where she also serves as Curator of Museum Collections. Dr. Clifford-Napoleone was a 2006-2007 Unsung Heroine of the Year for Phi Kappa Phi, and is currently a Faculty Associate of the 2008 Summer Seminar in Contemplative Education at Naropa University. An scholar of cultural studies and the anthropology of gender, Dr. Clifford-Napoleone is currently working on a book about gender transgression in Kansas City's jazz scene.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Elaine Richardson, Ph.D. [see O.S.U. website / homepage]
Dr. Elaine Richardson is a graduate of the Cleveland Public Schools and East Technical High School. She received her BA and MA in English from Cleveland State University (1991 & 1993). She went on to earn a doctorate in English Composition and Applied Linguistics from Michigan State University. She taught at the University of Minnesota’s General College for two years before joining the English Department faculty at Penn State University, where she taught for nine years before taking her current post as Professor of Literacy Studies in the College of Education at Ohio State University.Dr. Richardson has published several books. Her first book, African American Literacies, (2003, Routledge), was a significantly revised version of her dissertation, focusing on teaching writing from the point of view of African American Language and Literacy traditions. Her most recent book, Hiphop Literacies (2006 Routledge), is a study of Hiphop language use as an extension of Black folk traditions. The book she is currently writing describes her experiences growing up as a girl from the hood of Cleveland, Ohio, getting into the street life and how she climbed out of the underworld to further her education and become who she is today. That book is entitled PHD 2 PhD: Po Ho on Dope to Dr. E.
Richardson has also co-edited two volumes on African American rhetorical theory, Understanding African American Rhetoric: Classical Origins to Contemporary Innovations (2003, Routledge) and African American Rhetoric(s): Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2004, Southern Illinois University Press), and one volume on Hiphop Feminism—Home Girls Make Some Noise (2007, Parker Publishing).
In 2004, she was Fulbright lecturing/researcher in the department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
She is the mother of three daughters: Evelyn, Ebony and Kaila. Richardson is a mentor to Black women and youth focusing on Black empowerment and higher education. Finally, Dr. E is a singer-songwriter and recording artist, using her voice to reach people who might be down, but not out.
