Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (GURC) 2025: Celebrating a Weekend of Research and Discovery
Oxford College of Emory University hosted the 14th Annual Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (GURC) on November 7-8, 2025. Over the course of a weekend packed with energy and collaboration, attendees learned about the exciting research being conducted throughout the state. Although all undergraduates needed to be enrolled in a Georgia college or university, statewide submissions were welcomed beyond the 22 GURC member institutions.
A True Team Effort
This was the second consecutive year that Oxford hosted the GURC. Daniel Walter, Associate Professor of German and Linguistics at Oxford, served again as the board's president. Walter attended his first GURC in 2019 and has served on the GURC board for the past six years.
“All GURC presidents serve first as president-elect for the two years before our university hosts, then as president for two years. Now, I'm serving as the immediate past president to help the next host with budgeting and other issues. We all learn from each other. For example, no one before had held pre-conference workshops to increase Friday night attendance,” explained Walter.
Walter also credits the exceptional Oxford GURC Organizing Committee for a successful conference, thanks to the team’s unwavering dedication and commitment. “Organizing this conference has been an honor and absolute pleasure. This was truly a team effort, and I cannot emphasize enough how much I have enjoyed the collegiality and creativity that this group of Oxford faculty and staff displayed during the past few months,” said Walter
The Oxford 2025 GURC Organizing Committee consisted of: Alejandro Abarca, Assistant Teaching Professor of Dance; Natalia Bayona Vásquez, Assistant Professor of Biology; Christopher Blake, Assistant Professor of Economics; Paige Crowl, Head of Library Teaching; Scott Foster, Director of Information Technology; Nicole Ingram, Director of Events and Conference; and Emily McLean, Assistant Professor of Biology.
Committee member Bayona Vásquez said, “In a time when artificial intelligence fosters a passive approach to obtaining information, creating and investing in spaces that enhance critical and creative thinking, active communication, and discussion should be a priority. GURC was a wonderful demonstration of how young minds can and do engage in intellectual and artistic exchange, showcasing the potential in our state for advancing knowledge and the humanities.”
The Attendees
The GURC 2025 welcomed all fields of research and creative activities, from Anthropology to Zoology. Abstract submissions were open and accepted from August - October 1, 2025, through the CVENT platform.
Walter and his committee were able to build on their experience gleaned from hosting in 2024. This year, thanks to improved spacing and they were able to accept almost everyone who submitted a presentation, helping more students gain the professional experience needed for their futures in medical and graduate school, or other endeavors.
Exactly 400 people attended the two-day event, including 303 students and 97 non-students. About half of the non-local attendees stayed in the town of Oxford, especially those traveling from farther away, such as Valdosta. Although the weather was a bit rainy at times, especially in the mornings, Walter said many people commented on how picturesque the campus was.
Forty-six students and non-students attended as friends and family, lending their encouraging support to all presenters, particularly the 128 student researchers presenting for the first time.
Walter noted that the Oxford supportive mentor/mentee-based, hands-on approach to undergraduate research develops confidence, as evidenced by the 23 first-authors from Emory, plus additional co-authors. Thirteen of those were either current or former Oxford students.
“We see our Oxford students moving on to the Atlanta campus and engaging either further with us in additional research projects or participating with Atlanta faculty. I always hear from Atlanta faculty how well-prepared Oxford students are for research, while sometimes Atlanta students are doing research for the first time as juniors and seniors. Oxford students have often been on a research team in some capacity and can jump into leadership roles,”
GURC: Day One
Registration opened on Friday afternoon, followed by two pre-conference workshops held concurrently. The student workshop was led by Dr. Ayanna Faith Young and Adelaide Richardson and covered the theme: “Get to the Point: How to Describe Your Work in Your Resume in a Way That Hits.” Richardson is the director, and Young is the assistant director of Career and Professional Services at Oxford College. In collaboration with the Oxford Center for Pathways and Purpose, the two speakers guided 55 student attendees through transforming their research into compelling entries for resumes, cover letters, and personal statements.
Meanwhile, Dr. LaTonia Taliaferro-Smith led the exciting mentor and faculty workshop “From Curiosity to Discovery: Engaging First- and Second-Year Undergraduate Students in Research.” Taliaferro-Smith, PhD, is the Associate Teaching Professor of Biology, Director of Undergraduate Laboratories, and Faculty Coordinator for Summer Programs at Oxford. Her workshop highlighted the importance of public scholarship in the classroom, specifically, students’ hands-on experience of doing and communicating about their work outside the classroom, emphasizing its potential to build trust in research and foster pedagogical innovation.
Since joining Oxford in 2015, Taliaferro-Smith has developed and taught a range of courses, including Independent Research and Discovery in Biology, and interdisciplinary seminars such as The History of Cancer, Biomimicry and Bio-inspirations, and Race, Rights, and Recognitions in STEM. Following her workshop, she gave the conference’s opening address.
Afterwards, the doors of the Oxford Student Center opened to the vibrant Evening Mixer, while the Executive Board of the GURC gathered for their business meeting. In total, 195 people attended Friday programming, and all of those stayed to socialize at the evening mixer.
GURC: Day Two
The second day began bright and early on Saturday with breakfast, followed by the morning welcome address at the Oxford Student Center, led by Rev. Brent Huckaby, Oxford College Chaplain, Oxford College Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.
Three, hour-long paper presentation sessions occurred before noon, followed by one session after lunch. Students were given 15 minutes to present their papers, followed by five minutes for questions. Over 20 Oxford student volunteers helped ensure the 120 paper presentations ran smoothly.
After lunch, the keynote address was given by Nichole Fazio, DPhil, Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, Emory College Office for Undergraduate Education. An award-winning educator and advisor, she’s spent over two decades advocating for undergraduate research as a high-impact learning experience that celebrates collaborative scholarship and advances excellence in undergraduate education across all disciplines and forms of inquiry.
“It was a privilege to congratulate undergraduate researchers from across the state of Georgia on their scholarship and to collectively acknowledge their research mentors on behalf of Emory University and its College of Arts and Sciences. GURC 2025 was a remarkable celebration of undergraduate research, and my colleagues from Oxford College should also be congratulated for their efforts in organizing such a successful conference.”
The Poster Presentation and Graduate Program Fair followed the keynote in Williams Hall/Gymnasium. Alison Wen, 25Ox27C, was one of the 101 presenters. Pursuing a B.A. in psychology and linguistics, her topic was “Analysis of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Hispanics in the U.S.: Variations Across Spanish, English, and Bilingual Speakers.”
“Presenting at GURC 2025 was such a rewarding experience! I loved sharing my work with fellow peers and learning from others involved in various disciplines,” said Wen.
Looking Forward
Walter and his team received great feedback about GURC 2025. One of the professors from Oglethorpe shared that her students had the best time networking at Oxford and seeing what other students were researching. Of the 84 participants who answered the first exit survey question about their impressions of GURC, all responded positively, with 44 rating it excellent.
“As a long-time advocate for undergraduate research as a high-impact learning experience, it was a joy to see students from across so many disciplines and institutions of higher education engaged in teaching others about their research,” added Fazio.
Walter pointed out, “Most of these students have not had a chance to engage in an academic-type conference before. It’s a great learning opportunity to see what it’s like to present to an audience and to explain their work in a much more comfortable environment. Then, hopefully, they will have the confidence to go and take their projects to bigger, more focused conferences.”
Attendees were also encouraged to submit their research to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), the largest venue for showcasing undergraduate research across 50+ disciplines, fostering career readiness, and celebrating innovation. For students looking to publish their research, “The Undergraduate Research Journal” was suggested.
The weekend concluded with farewells as the GURC 2026/2027 leadership team was handed the baton to begin preparing Georgia College & State University (GCSU) in Milledgeville for next fall’s event. Additionally, for students looking to engage soon with influential community leaders and share their research on a public stage, the Georgia Undergraduate Research Collective will present a Posters at the Capitol event on February 17, 2026, in the James H. “Sloppy” Floyd Building, immediately northeast of the Georgia State Capitol. Georgia students can learn more from their university’s undergraduate research departments about how to submit their proposals.
Although it will be several years before the conference returns to Oxford’s campus, the opportunities for professional growth and dynamic research that GURC 2025 provided Oxford, Emory, and hundreds of other Georgia undergraduates will be long remembered.
