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University of Maine at Fort Kent

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Enrollment & Advancement Center • University of Maine at Fort Kent • 23 University Drive, Fort Kent, ME 04743

UMFK Scholars' Symposium to Feature Students' Achievements

April 10, 2018

Note: this is an archived news release. As such, the information provided may no longer apply.

The University of Maine at Fort Kent’s ninth annual Scholars’ Symposium will take place on Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20 on the UMFK campus.  The theme of this year’s event is, “What’s Real, What’s Not: In Search of Truth.”

The two-day showcase of students’ academic achievements begin on Thursday, April 19 at 12:30 pm in Fox Auditorium with the presentation of, “The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Citizen Participation in the United States,” by visiting Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Fanbin Zeng.

A panel discussion on the topic of “Fake News” will be held on Thursday evening at 6:00 pm in Nadeau Hall on the UMFK campus. Panel participants will include Andrew Birden (Fiddlehead Focus), Julia Bayly (Bangor Daily News), Dr. Paul Buck (UMFK Professor History and Spanish), Dr. Josh Pasek (Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan) and Fulbright Scholar Dr. Fanbin Zeng. The discussion will be moderated by Joe Zubrick (UMFK Professor Communication) and will touch on various aspects of “Fake News” including disinformation, bias, news quality, and the responsible use of social media.

On Friday, April 20th the symposium will begin with a welcome from UMFK President Dr. John N. Short at 9 am in Fox Auditorium. The welcome will be followed by a recorded presentation by Senator Angus King and then the keynote speaker, Dr. Josh Pasek, will begin at 9:15 am. Dr. Pasek’s keynote speech will be on cognitive biases in processing media misinformation.

Dr. Pasek is currently an assistant professor of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan. His research explores how new media and psychological processes each shape political attitudes, public opinion, and political behaviors.

At 10:30 am, attendees will hear from students who will present in Fox Auditorium until 11:30 am.

Following lunch, the symposium will move to the UMFK Sports Center from 1pm to 2:30 pm for the hugely popular poster and project session, where students display poster presentations of their research or projects, and answer questions about their methodologies and findings.

For further information on the symposium, please contact Dr. Kurt Holzhausen, symposium coordinator, at (207) 834-7621 or kurtholz@maine.edu.

UMFK Scholars' Symposium fosters a community of engaged educators, researchers, and life-long learners who value academic excellence, scholarship, and intellectual curiosity.  The two days of stimulating presentations and discourse focuses on issues relevant to the region and to the institution's mission, which commits to experiential learning, responsible citizenship, and environmental stewardship in its Franco-American, rural setting.