Sit Lux

The Sit Lux: Deans’ Initiative for Interdisciplinary Innovation projects combine Mount Union’s institutional core values of service and student learning. The Sit Lux Initiative illustrates how, as a collective academic community, faculty, students, and community partners may engage collaboratively “to bring light into the world” through impactful service and community-based learning.

Each interdisciplinary innovation project is predicated upon high-impact practices with the promise of providing deeper engagement of our students that extends and transcends traditional modes of instruction.

The Sit Lux projects are primarily framed around the high-impact practices of student-faculty research and service learning. Student-faculty research provides an outlet for individual or collaborative student projects, typically supervised by faculty members where the role of faculty is not only to oversee the design, development, and implementation of the student initiative but also to serve as faculty mentors and potentially as inquiry collaborators as the process unfolds.

Mount Union Seal

Sit Lux Summer 2023 Call for Proposals

Investigating the Integrative Core

Faculty Participants: Dr. Rodney Dick, English and Amy Laubscher, Integrative Core Director
Student Participants: Paulo Mantilla, finance and management major and Marissa Scott, English major

Project Abstract: Leveraging the current program review pilot process, the goal of this project is to “provide a working group of faculty and students the opportunity to research the literature…and the program review results already gathered, and determine action items...” that will be brought to the faculty in AY23-24. The community outreach component of this project is to have student researchers connect with community partners to collect information on expectations for college graduates.

A Matter of Balance: The Debut of a New Evidence-Based Program to the Alliance Community

Faculty Participants: Dr. Megan Salvatore, Physical Therapy; Dr. Ryan Cook, Psychology; and Andrea Williams, Physical Therapy Assistant Clinical and Academic Coordinator.
Student Participants: Chloe Orzo, psychology and French major and Mason Wilkson, exercise science and psychology major

Project Abstract: A Matter of Balance is “a program that has been designed to increase activity levels and encourage behavioral changes in older adults while simultaneously reducing the risks and fears of falling.” This is a nationally recognized program offered in communities. The aim of this project is to “equip these individuals with a toolkit that will result in better health, increased, safety, and a higher quality of life.” The project will start with training the student participants to deploy the MOB program; then the participants will deploy the program at the Alliance Area Senior Center and the Community Commons.

Biomedical engineering and Nursing Clinical Immersion Program

Faculty Participants: Loay Al-Zube, Engineering; Sara Dorris, Nursing; and Kelly Dine, Akron North High School
Student Participants: Madison Luthy, Biomedical Engineering major; Samuel Nucerino, Biomedical Engineering major; Axel Magarrell, Biomedical Engineering major; Various nursing students from Mount Union; and Biomedical Science students at Akron North High School.

Project Abstract: Clinical experiences among biomedical engineers are limited by access and exposure and are not addressed in traditional biomedical engineering curricula. The purpose of this research project is to work closely with nursing faculty and students at the University of Mount Union to undertake high-risk, high rewards student-faculty research and service learning experiences that are outside the scope of research typically performed by the participants. The goal of the project is to investigate the factors that affect BME students’ readiness and ability to identify healthcare providers clinical needs and to develop solutions/products that address those identified needs. Furthermore, the project aims to provide nursing students with an interactive learning experience with engineering students through testing and assessing new products/solutions.

How does literature (along with other forms of media) inform our understanding, use, and empathy toward the use of preferred gender pronouns?

Faculty Participants: Dr. Tamara Dailey, Psychology, and Dr. Andrew Price, Literature and Communication Arts
Student Participants: Eleni Ault, English and History major; Anabelle Saultz, Psychology and English major; and Lexi Smith, Psychology and Spanish major.

Project Abstract: In light of recent events reflecting intolerance of people in the LGBTQIA+ community on campus, strategies to build empathy in situations of difference—specifically surrounding gender and sexuality—are crucial. In this research, we seek to find solutions to the issue of pronoun use and inclusive language in mediums of communicative arts within our own campus and surrounding communities. They will share findings with libraries throughout the region.

Theatre and Education; A Natural Partnership

Faculty Participants: Dr. Mandy Capel, Education, and Kevin P. Kern, Performing Arts
Student Participants: Clay Yoder, Theatre major; Olan Domer, Media major; Clorise Busch, Theatre major; and Marissa Scott, English major.

Project Abstract: Created eight years ago by Alliance City Schools to address the summer learning loss, and funded in part by the Greater Alliance Foundation, the Summer Explorers Program brings summer enrichment to students in the Alliance City School district. Feedback from stakeholders suggest that the summer classes within the program should be more engaging and feel less like “summer school”. Additionally, it has been noted that the program should also contain a social/emotional health component. Theatre students will pair with Education students to create and deliver face-to-face lesson plans and record interactive story read-alongs built around the themes of this year’s Summer Explorers Program.

Honoring First Nations: A Study in Land Acknowledgement at the University of Mount Union

Faculty Participants: Niki Johnson, Religious Studies, and Kelly Stout, Sociology
Student Participants: Allison Hrovat, Psychology and Sociology major; Farrel Murphy, Political Science and Religious Studies major; and Gretchen Koken, Psychology and Criminal Justice major
Students researching

Project Abstract: The Anti-Racism Task Force, convened by President Botzman for the 20-21AY, recommended in its mid-year report that the University explore the need for an indigenous land acknowledgment and related outreach to local Native American communities as part of Mount Union’s commitment to anti-racism. President Botzman accepted this recommendation and asked that this initiative be driven by students. This project will carry that recommendation forward when the Anti-Racism Task Force concludes its work in May. Student participants will research indigenous history of local areas, consider questions about the founding of the University on lands previously occupied by indigenous peoples, and explore models for related efforts at Canadian and U.S. institutions. Ultimately the project will move toward consideration of the potential necessity of a public acknowledgment of indigenous lands upon which Mount Union is built and the content of such a statement. This project comprises an historical, cultural, and qualitative research design. It is also more inductive than deductive in that we cannot know from the outset where the research may lead. We anticipate the development of additional actionable recommendations based on deep exploration of the issues and collaboration with local indigenous communities.

Integrating Coding in the High School Math and Science Classroom

Faculty Participants: Richelle Teeling-Smith, Physics; Kathie Ritchey, Mathematics; Sara Crawford, Mathematics; Colin Campbell, Physics and Astronomy; and Heather Milliken-Mercer, Biology
Student Participants: Bret Scheib, Biochemistry major; Brianna Rapp, Physics and Mathematics major; and Zachary Perrico, Computer Science and Mathematics major.

Coding students recording videos

Project Abstract: Nationwide, schools are receiving the directive to integrate coding into their curriculum. K-12 teachers are left in the dust trying to figure out how to bring coding into their classroom without knowing how to code themselves. Our partner, STEMcoding Education Ohio (SEO) – now an Ohio-based non-profit – exists to encourage science and math teachers to integrate computer science and data science into their classrooms and to facilitate that work. STEMcoding@MOUNT will utilize the expertise of Mount Union faculty and the problem-solving skills and creativity of Mount Union students to develop a new interdisciplinary curriculum and resources for the middle and high school classroom, to serve and train local middle and high school teachers, and to expand that impact both statewide and nationwide. The STEMcoding@MOUNT team will consist of 4 Undergraduate Collaborators (UCs), mentored by 5 Mount Union faculty across 2 colleges. Each UC will be responsible, under the guidance of the team of faculty, for the design, development, and implementation of two 60-minute programming modules for a high school or middle school STEM classroom. They will also sit in on SEO’s teacher professional development course, where they will have the opportunity to engage with teachers currently undergoing training and use this experience to inform their creation of new content. The modules developed by our students will go directly into use by teachers across the state, through SEO’s collaboration with the Ohio Department of Education, or nationwide through SEO-trained teachers using these resources in their classroom. They will also be used on the Mount Union campus in FYS courses slated for Fall 2021 and potentially in future DSC, BIO, MTH, and PHY course offerings. In addition to the partnership with SEO, STEMcoding@MOUNT will partner with Akron North Schools to provide 2 scholarships to allow Akron North teachers to take the summer professional development course with SEO for graduate credit. Additionally, seats will be reserved for 8 Akron North Students to attend the STEMcoding Summer Camp at Mount Union. This provides an opportunity for our Undergraduate Collaborators to engage directly with local students and teachers and to strengthen the relationship with this partnering school district, as well as lay the groundwork for future collaborative efforts.

Understanding Motivations for Participating in School Sports in Alliance City Schools

Faculty Participants: Beth Canfield-Simbro, Education; Lori Kumler, Political Science; and Gwen Gray Schwartz, Literature and Communication Arts
Student Participants: Kaleb Krebs, Physical Education Pedagogy and Health major; Jordan Edith, Political Science Law 3+3 Akron; Ryan Shank, Health and Physical Education Pedagogy major; Mara Cvelbar, English and Political Science major; and Jaliyah Mixon, Sociology major.

Project Abstract: The aim of this project is to establish a partnership between parents, district leadership, and coaches that will elevate the status of girls’ sports in Alliance City Schools (ACS) and the Eastern Buckeye Conference. Our overarching objectives are to understand and address the problem. Archival research and empirical data gathering via ethnographic interviews, surveys, and focus groups will be employed. Intended outcomes are short-term, practical steps, as well as long-term systemic changes to work toward equity in sports in the ACS District.