Student Academic Conference
|
|
|
|
2008 STUDENT ACADEMIC CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Each year an MSUM alumnus is selected to deliver the keynote address to conference attendants. This person is selected by the conference steering committee following a review of nominations received from members of the MSUM campus community. The keynote speaker for 2008 is Karen Branden. Below is a profile of Karen Branden.
Karen Branden was born in Houston, Texas but spent most of her formative years in Barnesville, Minnesota. Upon graduating from high school she worked for a year before being admitted to MSUM's Corrick Center. She credits the Corrick Center with her academic achievements and success. In 2003 she was honored to receive the Delmar G. Corrick Spirit and Vision Award. While at MSUM she "found her future" and was immediately seduced by sociology. In 1991 she graduated cum laude from MSUM with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Women's Studies. She began her academic presentations while at MSUM and gave a formal talk on pornography at a Women's Studies session and at a conference at North Dakota State University. Upon graduation she received a position in the admissions department at MSUM. Education was constantly calling so she went into a Masters program at NDSU and in 1995 she received her M.S. in Sociology. In 1997 she lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with her husband Dennis Jacobs and taught computers to high school students of low income families. During their time in South East Asia they traveled to Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and extensively around Malaysia assessing environmental impacts over time. In 2002 she received her Ph. D. in Sociology after being hired the previous year by Bemidji State University. While at BSU she gave a number of presentations related to her dissertation topic "Negotiations between Anishinaabe and an Outside University" focusing on the relationship between a Minnesota American Indian tribe and a large land grant university as they discussed "rights" over wild rice. In 2005 she was hired by Minnesota State University Moorhead as an Assistant Professor in Sociology. Now in her third year at MSUM she is excited to be back home. In December of 2006 she was honored as the keynote speaker at the Fluid and Thermal Energy Conversion Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia. She spoke about engineers being "hidden heroes" as they work on sustainable energy for the future of the world. Her research history involves a variety of topics including pornography, wild rice "rights", engineers working on sustainable energy technology, and tribal membership with the Red Lake Anishinaabe tribe. She has recently co-authored a book titled, "From McEnergy to EcoEnergy: Americans Transition to a Sustainable Future" written with her husband Dr. Dennis Jacobs. She and her husband are beginning to offer presentations about sustainable energy in the Northwest region of Minnesota.Student Academic Conference Keynote Address "Dragons Roar into a Sustainable Future" Dr. Karen Braden, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Minnesota State University Moorhead, will be the keynote speaker at this year's Student Academic Conference. Her presentation, "Dragons Roar into a Sustainable Future" will highlight her passion for environmental issues. Dr. Braden's dedication to this important cause includes her involvement on the MSUM Green Fee and Sustainable Campus Initiative Committee, her extensive research and her recent book From McEnergy to Ecoenergy: America's Transition to a Sustainable Energy co-authored with Dr. Dennis Jacobs. STUDENT PANELISTS: One student from each of MSUM's four colleges is selected following nominations by the college's corresponding deans. This years student panelists are listed below. College of Social
and Natural Science representative will be Sherryse
Mayo, a Psychology major. mayosh@mnstate.edu College of Arts and
Humanities representative will be Debbie Pestka, a Chemistry and College of Education representative will be Krystal Dassinger, a Speech Hearing Sciences major. dassinkr@mnstate.edu College of Business and Industry representatives will be Casey Swenson, a Construction Management major and Lindsey Swenson, a Finance and Accounting double major. lindsey_swenson@hotmail.com swenscas@mnstate.edu For more information contact: |
