Volume 10 (2018)

During this past school year, the History department at Southern Adventist University (SAU) was host to a visiting professor from one of our sister schools – Avondale College in Australia. I enjoyed getting to know Professor Daniel Reynaud while he was here and I had the pleasure of attending more than one lecture that he presented on the topic of research. During one of these presentations, Dr. Reynaud commented on some of the differences in research culture at Avondale and SAU. Reynaud noted that one of SAU’s most notable strengths was its strong emphasis on undergraduate student research. Coming from a visiting professor, who himself was a prolific researcher, this was an encouraging thing to hear.

Despite being a liberal arts school, with a heavier emphasis on teaching than research amongst the faculty, it is true that the faculty and administration at SAU encourages students to get involved in research activities. This is demonstrated in several ways on campus including a strong emphasis on research and writing in the classroom, the Research and Writing Center located in our campus library, annual Campus Research Days, and the production of this journal – The Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research (JIUR).

Now in its tenth year of publication, the JIUR has offered over 48 undergraduate students the opportunity to have their work published in a refereed journal. This edition brings about some major changes in the editorial team. Most notably, the founding editor of the JIUR – Dr. Rob Coombs retired in the Fall of 2017. Dr. Coombs managed the production of the JIUR since it was established in 2009, and I am very thankful for his efforts in streamlining the process of producing and editing the journal. His attention to detail and tireless efforts at making the production of this journal as efficient as possible has very much been appreciated during my first year as editor-in-chief.

In addition, this edition of the JIUR would not have been possible without our Graduate Assistant, Davida Phillips, who is also new to her work with the JIUR. With her background in English and Teaching, Davida’s efforts in organizing, editing, and attending to all of the details of production have been indispensable. Having already worked to help produce the third edition of The Journal of Interdisciplinary Graduate Research , Davida has brought her knowledge and experience to the production of this edition. Thank you, Davida for your consistently excellent work!

Because our journal is interdisciplinary, we are afforded the wonderful privilege of working with an outstanding editorial board that reflects the diverse array of talents that we have on our campus. We are thankful to those who served on our editorial board this year: Dr. Loren Barnhurst, Chemistry; Dr. Nina Nelson, Social Work; Dr. Mark Peach, History and Southern Scholars; Dr. Keith Snyder, Biology; and Dr. Ruth Williams, Psychology. We are also grateful to the administration at Southern Adventist University, especially in the School of Education and Psychology, for their continued support and encouragement of The Journal of Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research .

Tron Wilder, Ph.D.

Editor-in-Chief