2016 Jepson Research Symposium

April 28, 2016
Student research highlights the interdisciplinarity of a Jepson education

Leadership is not limited to a single field or area of study. That reality is inescapable to anyone walking into Jepson Hall on the morning of the 2016 Jepson Research Symposium.

At one table, Austin Shepherd, ’16, shows YouTube clips of the 1996 and 2013 video game Tomb Raider; at another, Jordan Chavez, ’16, discusses how endowments affect college athletics; and at yet another, Alyssa Ross, ’17, describes advances in virtual reality.

Faculty, staff, guests, and fellow students weave among the presentations to learn about the diverse range of topics, including how each project came to be, what the long-term implications are, and how the project relates to leadership and ethics.

Molly Collins, ’16, is one of three students presenting honors research at the symposium. Collins, who worked with advisor Dr. Jess Flanigan, showcased her project, “The Ethics of Environmentalism for the Individual Consumer.”

Collins first became interested in environmentalism and the ethical dilemmas surrounding it while interning at a small company that handles business development for startup companies working with renewable energy. In her thesis, Collins discusses how leaders can influence citizens’ actions in order to make a lasting difference in the environment: “I relate a few theories of leadership to climate change policy for maximum effectiveness, as well as what sort of global policy or structure will be required to make a positive impact on climate change.”

“This research is important because it engages people on an individual level and questions the moral behind their behaviors. The major takeaway is that individuals can make such a significant impact on the environment, both for better and for worse,” explains Collins. “I suggest that if each individual were to change just a few daily habits and make a few choices differently, the issues of climate change would be greatly reduced.”

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2016 Jepson Research Symposium Exhibits

  • Hannah Cassatly
    A Common Healthcare Problem: The Integration of Two Healthcare Systems
  • Jordan Chavez
    Endowments, Targeted Gifts, and Athletics in Higher Education
  • Molly Collins
    The Ethics of Environmentalism for the Individual Consumer
  • Vladimira Dostalova
    Do Women Represent Women?
  • Diane Gremillion
    The Ethics of Leadership Decapitation: Just War and the Targeted Killing of Al-Qaeda Leaders
  • Madeleine Hardt and Annette Schieffelin
    Addressing Wealth Inequality: Perceiving Procedural Injustice Reduces System-Justifying Effects of Conservatism
  • Abby Huth
    Realignment: A Century of Political Evolution
  • Harry Lambert
    Political Giants in the Latter 20th Century: The Divergent Leadership Legacies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan
  • Amelia Mitrotz
    I'm a Feminist, But Not Online: The Complications of Declaring a Feminist Digital Identity
  • John Obeck
    The Jam Band Prototype: An Analysis of the Grateful Dead’s Cultural and Musical Leadership
  • Alyssa Ross
    Leadership and VR Technology
  • Austin Shepherd
    Made for Men: The Evolution of Gender Representation in Video Games Explored through Tomb Raider
  • Caroline Utz
    The Most Important News Show...Ever: The Leadership Capacity of Satirical News in Today's Media Landscape
  • Brandon Waller
    The Ethics of the Individual Mandate