Dear Committee for Chapter Activities::
The Creighton University chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha has decided to send a delegation of students to the 2000 Midwest Student Research Conference. The conference will be held in St. Joseph, Missouri in April. The Midwest Student Conference is an ideal opportunity for Creighton students to get conference experience and to prepare for post-graduation school work. We are requesting funds to cover travel expenses, registration fees, food and lodging for 15 students and 2 faculty advisors. An itemized expense report is attached. We make every effort to keep expenses at a minimum so that all students may participate based on the quality of their research, not their ability to pay.

Creighton University has hosted and participated in this conference in the past. It is a unique opportunity for our students to bring together classroom learning and independent research in a challenging academic forum. The individual student is given the chance to share their own independent research while receiving valuable feedback and insight from their peers and professors. The conference is also an excellent chance for students to polish their research projects before they submit them to numerous scholarly journals.

The conference itself consists of three days worth of student presentations of independent research projects with feedback and criticism at the end of each presentation. Faculty from numerous universities serve as moderators for the panels, which are arranged by topic area, and facilitate the discussion of student papers after each presentation. Over 100 area colleges and universities have been invited to send students to this year's conference. The unique experience of an undergraduate research conference will not only benefit the students in this year's program but hopefully will spur increased interest in student lead research as the participants return to campus.

Thank you for considering our request for funding. We anxiously look forward to hearing from you so that we may begin formal planning for next year's participants.

Budget Proposal:

Hotel Accommodations

• 5 Rooms at $50 each    $250.00
• Registration Fees
  15 students at $15.00 each    $225.00

Transportation Costs:

• 1 van rental at $50/day, 3 days    $150.00
• gasoline $50.00

Food:

• 1 lunch and 1 dinner at $20/student/faculty member     $340.00

Theta Alpha contribution for student participation:    $200.00

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Total Amount Requested    $815.00