Elizabethtown College recently hosted the 19th annual Scholarship and Creative Arts Days (SCAD) on April 20 through 21, celebrating students’ academic and creative achievements and recognizing the influential mentorship of faculty and staff. View the full SCAD 2026 program.

Events across the two-day event included:

Monday, April 20:

  • 22nd Occupational Therapy Graduate Research Symposium: This year’s symposium, “Building the Legacy: 50 Years of OT Scholarship & Innovation at Elizabethtown College,” featured both doctoral capstones and graduate presentations from Etown Occupational Therapy students. Held in hybrid format, attendees attended both virtually and in-person in the Masters Center.
  • 39th Juried Art Show Award Ceremony: Held in the Lyet Gallery located in the Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, this event recognized the artistic contributors of the 39th Annual Juried Art Show, which ran from April 9 through 21. This year’s juror was Dorothy Fry, Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing, from Millersville University. View photos.
  • 19th Annual Scholarship Day Recital: Instrumentalists and singers took the stage at Leffler Chapel and Performance Center to showcase selections they have prepared throughout the academic year. The program featured a diverse repertoire of vocal and instrumental works spanning the Baroque era to the modern day and served as a celebration of the students’ hard work. View photos.

Tuesday, April 21:

  • Opening Remarks, Faculty Prize Recipient Recognition and Keynote Address: 2025-26 Ranck Prize for Research Excellence recipient, Dr. Kirsten Johnson kicked off a full day of presentations by delivering the keynote address titled, “Media Credibility and Trust in an Age of Disinformation” in Gibble Auditorium. Before the keynote address, recipients of this year’s 2025-26 Schmidt Prize for Excellence in Student-Faculty Service, Wendy Bellew, and 2025-26 Polanowski Prize for Excellence in Faculty-Student Advising and Mentorship, Dr. Oya Dursun-Özkanca, were recognized for their contributions. View photos.
  • Paper Presentations: Three rounds of student research presentations were held throughout the day in Nicarry Hall and the Hoover Center. View photos.
  • Poster Presentations: Students from all academic programs displayed their poster presentations in the Bowers Center Fieldhouse, answering questions and discussing their work with attendees. View photos.
  • Master of Music Education (MME) Final Research Presentations: MME candidates presented their final research presentations virtually over Zoom.

About SCAD

Launched in 2009, Scholarship and Creative Arts Day (SCAD) is an annual conference that recognizes the artistic and scholarly contributions of students and faculty across all disciplines. Students are given the opportunity to present academic research or showcase their talents through musical performances or art exhibits.

SCAD aims to promote the College’s main learning goals for intellectual development, critical thinking, thoughtful communication, creativity, human expression, and diversity of perspectives, while honing students’ skills in oral presentation, exchanging and receiving meaningful feedback, and their desired field of study.