Gannon University to host NWPA Humanities and Social Sciences Conference

Published: 03/20/2024

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Gannon alumnus Annette Franklin, Ph.D., faculty emeritus of the State University of New York Fredonia.

The College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences at Gannon University will be hosting the NWPA Humanities and Social Sciences Conference from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, March 22 in I-HACK on the Erie Campus.

This regional conference will feature faculty and students delivering dynamic scholarly presentations and workshops across a wide array of academic disciplines. This year, the theme of the conference reflects the theme of the College’s yearlong speaker series, Find Your Voice, aimed to hear diverse perspectives, engage in new experiences, and encourage advocacy, action and self-expression.

“We want to promote collaboration across universities,” said Lori Lindley, dean of Gannon’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We hope to welcome them to Gannon and show them what our faculty and students are working on.”

Originally developed as a chance for students to present their research, the conference has grown to include many presenters across the disciplines and has evolved to include faculty, practitioners, and community members. It is now a respected regional peer-reviewed opportunity for students and faculty to share and develop their scholarship and attract professionals from other universities.

“We’re promoting three different formats for proposals, including paper, roundtable and workshop proposals, which provides a lot of opportunity for what people can get out of the conference,” she said.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Gannon alumnus Annette Franklin, Ph.D., faculty emeritus of the State University of New York Fredonia. Franklin will present “A Quest for Education and Social Good,” during which she will discuss an oral history she completed on five paraprofessional teachers’ aides and how they found their voices throughout their experience in their preparation programs.

Register here today, and learn more about our speaker below.

Annette Franklin, Ph.D., is presently faculty emeritus of State University of New York Fredonia and has been a social worker for 23 years working in various practice settings (micro, mezzo and macro). Franklin received her BSW from Gannon University, MSW from the University of Pittsburgh and Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo. She has certificates in teaching and leadership in diversity and in gerontology. Her prior research agenda has focused on the historical recruiting efforts for African American teachers. A licensed social worker in Pennsylvania, Franklin has had a long-standing interest in schools of social work and