Inaugural SEC Symposium Set For Feb. 10-12 In Atlanta
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: January 29, 2013
The
Southeastern Conference is widely known for setting the standard of
excellence when it comes to intercollegiate athletics. But even as the
league
was accomplishing a record-setting fall, which included Alabama claiming
the SEC's seventh consecutive BCS Championship, it also has been busy
preparing for the inaugural SEC Symposium.
This
first-of-its-kind event will address a significant scholarly issue
across the range of disciplines represented by the SEC's 14 member
universities. The event
showcases their academic excellence and underscores their educational
and economic contributions to the vitality of the region, nation and
world.
The
2013 edition of the SEC Symposium, entitled "Impact of the Southeast in
the World's Renewable Energy Future," will take place Feb. 10-12 at the
Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
Just
as the SEC provides its student-athletes the opportunity to compete on
one of the biggest stages in college athletics, the Conference will also
afford its faculty
members and standout students a prestigious academic platform from which
to present and discuss their research and scholarly accomplishments.
The
SEC Symposium is the brainchild of Vanderbilt University Chancellor
Nicholas S. Zeppos, current Vice President of the SEC Executive
Committee and liaison to SECU,
the league's academic initiative.
"We
are excited for the inaugural SEC Symposium," Zeppos said. "This will
provide an outstanding way in which to showcase the academic
accomplishments and research
efforts of our SEC institutions."
This
year's event, led by the University of Georgia, will feature a wide
variety of presentations from faculty representing each SEC institution,
an SEC university
showcase, poster exhibitions and a reception with the SEC Presidents,
Chancellors and Provosts.
Established
in January 2011, the University of Georgia's Bioenergy Systems Research
Institute (BSRI), headed by Dr. Robert Scott, provides a synergistic
collaboration
of the university's history of success in the areas of agriculture,
forestry, environmental science and engineering to find a long-term
solution to creating a sustainable and economically viable bioenergy
future.
"Dr.
Robert Scott has provided tremendous support of the SEC Symposium
through BSRI," said Torie Johnson, Executive Director of SECU.
"Following his example, everyone
has been eager to help organize our inaugural event in a way that not
only highlights UGA, but that highlights the entire SEC membership. I
appreciate their work in the bioenergy area and their willingness to
translate it into a substantive program for the
SEC Symposium."
As
synonymous as football is with the Southeastern United States when it
comes to the sports world, so too is renewable energy a geographically
natural fit for an
academic conference that highlights the efforts of its region.
"To
the leadership in our institute, it was obvious that this topic
resonated with most of the SEC institutions," Scott said. "In the
Southeast there is, in particular,
a lot of biomass - plant material - such as pine trees and switch grass,
all of which make the Southeast a place where bioenergy makes more
sense as a renewable energy source than say wind energy or solar
energy."
The
SEC has always been at the forefront of recognizing and promoting the
accomplishments of its students in the classroom. The Symposium affords
the SEC just another
opportunity to showcase the outstanding academic work of its students
and faculty.
In
1992, the SEC became the first conference in the nation to assemble a
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Since the implementation of the
Graduation Success Rate,
there has been a general trend of improvement in the GSR of
student-athletes in the SEC. NCAA research indicates the student body
graduates at a GSR comparable rate of 60 percent, which is exceeded by
90 percent of teams within the SEC. Since 2003, the SEC
has had 170 student-athletes earn first-team Capital One Academic
All-America recognition.
In
2005, the Presidents, Chancellors and Provosts from the then-12 SEC
institutions created the Southeastern Conference Academic Consortium
(SECAC) to coordinate efforts
to bolster teaching, research, public service and other educational
activities at the institutions.
The
SECAC was the precursor to SECU, which in 2011 moved from the
University of Arkansas and came under the direct auspices of the SEC
Office in Birmingham, Ala.
Using
its SECU academic initiative, the SEC sponsors, supports and promotes
collaborative higher education programs and activities involving
administrators, faculty
and students at its member universities.
For more information on the inaugural SEC Symposium and its participants, please log on to www.SECSymposium.com.
