FHSU University Communications
The 20th annual John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days (SACAD) was held on April 24. Despite an early threat of rain, the clearing weather provided a pleasant backdrop for this year’s expanded event.
Created in 2005 to allow university faculty, staff, and students to share their scholarly and creative work, SACAD has grown into an inclusive week-long event culminating with presentations of scholarly and creative works at an on-campus open house. This year, presentations were held in multiple campus locations to better display the impressive array of projects and posters.
Hosted within the Center for Applied Technology building, students and faculty demonstrated some of their latest innovations with 21 unique and innovative displays, including various works of wood, metal, and plastics, as well as a battery-powered vehicle designed by Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science (KAMS) students.
In the Schmidt Foundation Center for Art and Design, students displayed more than 120 art and design works. There were sculptures in a wide array of materials, paintings, and drawings, to name just a few of the types of creative works from this year’s artists.
The traditional poster presentations, held in the Memorial Union, also saw growth this year, with 100 submissions for the in-person poster session. Posters were available for viewing all day in the FHSU Memorial Union, which also housed the Meet-the-Author event and a new Community Engaged Showcase. The Community Engaged Showcase included presentations from LDRS 310, a course that requires students to develop community partner projects.
Also included this year were several musical performances. There were a record-breaking 262 submissions for SACAD. As observers made their way through the various performances and displays throughout campus, they were invited to vote on two People’s Choice Awards, one for scholarly works and one for creative works.
The two winners were:
• Isabelle Gonzalez of Hoisington: Cupid and Psyche (Drawing-Painting)—People’s Choice Award winner for the art and creative works display.
• Ilsle Trejo, a junior Social Work major from Sublette, & Miguel Gabino Lopez, a senior Social Work major from Elkhart: DEI From The Perspective of Racially and Sexually Minority Social Work Students— People’s Choice Award winners for the academic poster display. Annette Clarke Jones and Octavio Ramirez were faculty mentors.
“The 20th anniversary of the John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days (SACAD) showcased events from prior years, as well as the premiere of two new additions,” said Dr. April Terry, associate professor of criminal justice and Scholarship Environment Committee (SEC) Event Coordinator. “Once again, we’ve heard positive feedback on utilizing cross-campus locations with increased interest in virtual accessibility of the academic posters and creative works.”
The annual SACAD event continues to evolve, Terry said, adding that she believes this year provided innovative opportunities to showcase the work of FHSU faculty, staff, and students.
About John Heinrichs
The FHSU Scholarly and Creative Activities Day is named in honor of the late Dr. John F. Heinrichs (1957-2014). A popular Geosciences professor, an internationally renowned Arctic researcher, and an esteemed colleague, Dr. Heinrichs had a tremendous impact on Fort Hays State University. He was a key supporter of faculty and student research, and his efforts were largely responsible for launching Research and Creative Activities Week, now known as John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activities Day, in his honor.