On April 22, 2014 the Graduate Program in Demography hosted a pre-PAA conference event (dubbed the "mini-PAA"). This event was entirely based on the papers and posters authored by graduate students in Penn State's Demography program that were accepted for presentation at the PAA Annual Meetings in Boston (2014). The mini-PAA provided the presenters the opportunity to formally present their work to their colleagues; an important opportunity given the breadth and depth of the dual-degree program in Demography at Penn State. It also provided opportunities to practice their talks in the 12-15 minute PAA format and to hone their skills discussing their posters and research. The first mini-PAA included four presentations and up to 20 posters (for details see http://sites.psu.edu/minipaaconference/). The event was held in the Living Center on Penn State's campus and was well attended by the graduate students and faculty across the demography community.
The event would not have been possible without the organizational skills of the Graduate Student Advisory Committee*, the assistance of Angela Jordan and Stephanie Eickstedt, and the support of Jenny Van Hook, Director of the Population Research Institute at Penn State.
*The Graduate Student Advisory Committee (2013-2014) is:
- Beatrice Abiero (Health Policy & Administration and Demography)
- Lauren Bachan (Sociology and Demography)
- Nicole Constance (Human Development & Family Studies and Demography)
- Stephen Kotok (Education, Theory & Policy and Demography)
- Ellis Logan (Sociology and Demography)
- Daniel Parker (Anthropology and Demography)
- Kyler Sherman-Wilkins (Sociology and Demography)
- Emily Wornell (Rural Sociology and Demography)
- Esha Zaveri (Agricultural, Environmental and Resource Economics & Demography)
Created by Stephen Matthews