The university prepares to host the University of Louisiana System Academic Summit for the first time. Creative demonstrations will occur in the Contemporary Art Building and Pottle Music Building.
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The university’s aspects of art and creative demonstrations will be put on display as it hosts the University of Louisiana System Academic Summit for the first time. 

Each year, nine universities including Southeastern take turns hosting the summit. The universities included in the University of Louisiana System are Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Louisiana at Monroe and the University of New Orleans. 

Contemporary Art Gallery Director and Interim Department Head of the Fine and Performing Arts Music Program Dale Newkirk admits that the summit was created in the hopes of celebrating the artistic creations of students during the time of financial deductions at universities. 

“It was created at a time when there was a feeling that there needed to be a showcase which spotlighted the research and creative activity that students were doing at different universities,” said Newkirk. “Particularly in a time where we’ve had many years of budget cuts.”

Coordinator of the Academic Summit and Department Head of  Psychology Susan Coats describes the many facets of art and student work that will be on display. 

“This celebration of academic excellence will encompass a faculty service-learning conference component, as well as an undergraduate student research component,” said Coats. “Student presentations from across the UL System’s nine campuses will include visual art exhibits, artistic performances, undergraduate research poster presentations and undergraduate research oral presentations. Among the various displays, exhibits and presentations, lunch will be served to attendees in the Student Union Ballroom on Friday with Southeastern’s Barbara Forrest, a professor of philosophy in the Department of History and Political Science serving as the keynote speaker.”

The Academic Summit will be held on Thursday, Mar. 30 and Friday, Mar. 31 on campus and will require registration. Newkirk hopes that by extending aspects of the exhibition, it will allow more students to access the work.

“Most of the events will happen on the 29th, 30th and 31st, and the actual exhibition of the summit will go from Mar. 23 to the 31st,” said Newkirk. “The opening reception will be the 30th from five to seven. I wanted it to run just a little bit longer than the summit because of the amount of effort it takes to put the show up. Other schools in the past, they’ve just put it up for the weekend and took it down for two days, but I wanted it to run longer than that.”

Newkirk encourages student artists to see work from their fellow artists from southern universities in order to see how they measure up against them.  

“It would be an opportunity for them to see artwork that is being made in the other universities that is part of our system,” said Newkirk. “This would be the work that the faculty in those institutions thinks is the best work, so it would be a chance to get some type of gauge of what is being done by young students at not just our university, but at all the universities in the system.