Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference Announces Keynote by Holyoke Community College President Christina Royal

Organizers for the 2023 Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference (MassURC) have announced Christina Royal, President of Holyoke Community College (HCC) will be the keynote speaker at the conference. The keynote is titled “Hacking Ourselves: Learning, UnLearning, and Relearning” and will examine the concept of unlearning, discuss its relevance to learning through a research-based lens, and challenge students to think differently about their approach to life and educational journey.

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Royal has been the President of Holyoke Community College since 2017, and during the time there HCC was named one of the top women-led businesses in Massachusetts in 2021 and 2022 by the Boston Globe Magazine and The Women's Edge, a nonprofit that supports top female business leaders. Royal is also the first female, queer person of color to hold the position of President at HCC.

The MassURC is a one-day conference where undergraduate students from the twenty-eight public colleges and universities within the Commonwealth present research, share knowledge, and learn from fellow students. The conference serves to broaden our understanding of research, showcasing investigations in over sixty subject areas, including biochemistry, history, architecture, marketing, fine art, and sociology.

“We are thrilled President Royal is this year’s keynote speaker. Her deep understanding of student success is inspiring to educators, and we look forward to her inspiring student researchers as well,” says Mari Castañeda, dean of Commonwealth Honors College at UMass Amherst. The college organizes and administers the conference on behalf of the state of Massachusetts.

The 2023 conference will take place on Friday, April 28, and will be entirely virtual. Royal’s keynote will be presented virtually from 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. on the conference day, with options for the public to view it through the MassURC website.

The MassURC is supported by Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the Massachusetts State Universities Council of Presidents, and the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges.

Website, for information and registration: https://www.umass.edu/honors/MassURC

For questions about the conference: conference@honors.umass.edu

For media resources: mmedeiros@umass.edu