(Posted April 7, 2008)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College will cancel classes on April 16, but it's not really a holiday for the student body. Instead, Juniata students will be free to exercise their minds.

The Juniata Liberal Arts Symposium, known jokingly on campus as "Mountain Day for the Mind," brings together students from almost all academic disciplines to present their research projects to panels of judges. The oral and poster presentations will run from 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16 in buildings across the campus, including Brumbaugh Academic Center, the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts, Ellis Hall, Good Hall and the von Liebig Center for Science.

Juniata's Liberal Arts symposium, now in its third year, is open to many more academic departments. According to Philip Dunwoody, assistant professor of psychology, who organized the event, about 160 students from more than 20 different academic programs will be presenting research.

The cancellation of regular classes allows all rooms to be available for presentations and frees volunteer students to act as judges.

Exhibitions by students in the visual arts and performing arts are included in the symposium this year. There will be a selective exhibition of fine art projects on display in the lobby of the Suzanne von Liebig Theatre in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts during the day. In the evening there will be student theatre projects, collectively titled "Bright Visions." All eight productions will be directed by students. "Bright Visions" will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16 through Saturday, April 19 in two separate spaces. Four student productions will be staged in the von Liebig Theatre and four will be staged in the Movement Studio, both located in the Halbritter Center.



Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.