A Welcome from Executive Director Lynda Dexheimer

This event is the highlight of the Writing Program’s academic year as we come together to celebrate the achievements of talented, hardworking Rutgers undergraduate students from every school on the New Brunswick campus. Selected student presenters completed exceptional projects in a range of research-writing courses offered by the Writing Program. Topics are timely and thought provoking and engage the big questions of our time on local, national, and global levels. Examples of student research this year include an argument for expanding “third spaces” on the Rutgers campus to bolster student engagement and wellbeing; an exploration of the consequences for and implications of political activism undertaken by professional athletes; and a proposal to unite two branches of physics with a 20th century “fundamental theory” that could help scientists unravel the black hole paradox: what happens to matter inside a black hole? 

The URWC is modeled on a professional academic conference with concurrent panel sessions and a poster fair throughout the day. Awards for outstanding research projects are supported by the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers Business School, School of Engineering, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Department of English, English Writing Program, and RU Libraries. 

One of the things we are most proud of is that the planning of the conference is undertaken by undergraduate student interns who are responsible for every stage of the event including selection, marketing, and serving as panel respondents on the day. One of this year’s interns even created a “jingle” for the event! 

Thank you to the student research writers: we all learn from you. Thank you to the intern team: your critical reading skills, creativity, and work ethic make the day a success. Thank you to the Writing Program faculty: your commitment and teaching excellence are an invaluable support to students on their academic journey. I will add a particular thanks to my colleagues Arete Bouhlas and Debra Keates, the URWC co-chairs. Simply put, their vision and incredibly hard work makes the URWC the professional, inspiring, and celebratory event that it is.

Our 12th Annual Conference showcases a selection of the extraordinary undergraduate projects prepared for the Writing Program’s research writing classes during 2023. We think you will enjoy our student-led team’s highly competitive selection, and wish to wholeheartedly applaud all work done by the program’s students and faculty as beacons that point us toward the future. 

 URWC 2024 Co-Chairs: Debra Keates and Arete Bouhlas 

Our Conference Interns: Rachel Baker, Michael Bricker, Kainat Chughtai, Gwen Ericson, Scott Mangino, Rediet Mereke, Olivia North-Crotty, Megha Patel, Shay Poppers, Lilly Tea, Isabel Umali 

 Writing Program Fellow: Lini Radhakrishna

 The Writing Program Faculty as readers and mentors: Anthony Alms, Janet Ansine, Brie Ashley, Jonathan Bass, Tracy Budd, Ian Bignall, Alex Buzick, Carla Caponegro, Clare Celi, Lynda Dexheimer, Donald Dow, Mike Duffy, Elizabeth Decker, Trisha Egbert, Julie Flynn, Tim Hedges, Jordanco Jovanoski, Snow Lee-Jones, Erin Kelly, Dawn Lilley, Jacqueline Loeb, Reagan Lothes, John Maerhofer, Bill Magrino, Tara Malanga, Michael Masiello, Joann Messina, Peter Molin, Michael Monescalchi, Dan Moran, Peter J. Morrone, Raluca Musat, Francesco Pascuzzi, Abbie Reardon, Brian Reinken, Puja Sahney, Lena Sandberg-Golden, Elif Sendur, Howie Swerdloff, Kathleen Wilford, RAsheda Young

 Additional thanks to: Grace Kincaid, Janice Park, Dennise Delafuente, Pooja Hiremath, MaryEllen Maguire, Ryan Gillen, Leslin Charles and Lily Todorinova

The URWC is supported by: The Rutgers Writing Program, Rutgers University Libraries, Rutgers Department of English, the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers Business School, the School of Engineering, and the Ernesto Mario School of Pharmacy.