Students and professors from all over the world gathered to present research at the 25th Annual Joint National Conference in Dallas, Texas at the Westin Dallas Park Central Hotel. Included in the joint conference are the National Association of African American Studies, the National Association of Hispanic Studies, the National Association of Native American Studies and the International Association of Asian Studies. Many different colleges and universities were represented, including Alcorn State University. Mass Communications Professor Toni Terrett and Senior Monique Mansfield constructed a PowerPoint presentation entitled Public Access to Police Bodycam Video. “This conference is extremely important because it exposes students to things outside of the campus that will behoove them in the future. It gives them an opportunity to present thought provoking papers to ilk minded individuals with a passion for research,” stated Terrett.
The event began on Monday, February 13th at 8:00 am with not only the presentation of student research but with different sessions such as the National African American Drug Policy Coalition Session and a General Session. Vendors and exhibitors also had tables set up throughout the lobby with different books, journals and African, Indian, Hispanic and Asian clothing and artifacts on display. The conference is scheduled to go on until Saturday, February 18th and it will end with a closing luncheon and awards program and an International Banquet with guest speaker Ela Gandhi.
Throughout the week, there will be more student presentations, various sessions and this will also be the first year for international broadcasts to South Africa, Dubai and many other foreign lands. There was also more representation from Alcorn State as Dr. Martha Rivola, Associate Professor in the Department of Human Studies, Tiffany Smith, Research Associate for ASU-SPARK and Dr. Ramash Maddali, Director of Institutional Research and Assessment, conducted a presentation entitled Suicide Prevention Program at Alcorn State University: A Multilevel Collaborative Effort.
Each presentation had a designated moderator and some included panelists. Other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that made an appearance at the conference were Jackson State University, Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, Howard University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and South Carolina State University. There were also numerous colleges from overseas such as Universidad Hispanoamericana and Management College of Southern Africa. The conference’s main objective was to provide a diverse experience for students and Instructors to learn from one other.