The Crown, a new Syracuse University undergraduate research journal edited by and for students in the Renée Crown University Honors Program, was recently published on SURFACE, the University’s open access institutional repository. The full issue can be accessed online.
The new journal was developed from a Fall 2023 Honors course, HNR340: Producing a Scholarly Journal, and highlights the academic work of students across disciplines. It includes pieces ranging from technical projects to analytical essays. The course is taught by Honors Program faculty member Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, who served as advisor.
The editorial team consisted of Anjana Dasam ’26 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), Samantha Olander ’26 (Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Newhouse School), Elijah Schmeller ’25 (College of Arts and Sciences), Yuming Jiang ’25 (College of Arts and Sciences) and Neeya Rostampour ’25 (College of Arts and Sciences and David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics).
The design team included Gianna Rullo ’27 (School of Architecture), Brshna Sultan ’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) and Jackelyn Villatoro-Ortiz ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts).
The website and marketing team included Amani Moses ’24 (College of Arts and Sciences and Whitman School), Kira Donegan ’26 (Newhouse School) and Ashfia Ibnat ’26 (College of Arts and Sciences).
According to Moses, the marketing director and website editor, “Research is an integral part of all our lives … we all actively engage in research to further our understanding of the world. Yet, we understand that sometimes it may be challenging for undergraduate students to find opportunities to showcase their everyday research achievements,” he says. “It is for this reason that we created The Crown: Syracuse Honors Research Journal, to give Honors and SOURCE-funded students a chance to display the bountiful research that they are conducting both within and outside of their academic courses.”
Moses says, “We are a team of 11 students in the Reneé Crown University Honors program who have worked all semester to bring you the carefully curated research pieces.” The staff comprises students from all four graduating classes and over seven different schools and colleges, which allowed them to interact with each other’s unique perspectives when discussing the elements of this journal.
“Our varied outlooks led to the selection of 20 research articles that represent students from a range of disciplines, including architecture, mechanical engineering, political science and sociology. Furthermore, we wanted to ensure that various forms of research were displayed in our journal,” says Moses. “You will find some traditional research projects like Lucy Olcott’s piece, ‘Treating Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea: Developing a peptide antagonist to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea.’ Alternatively, you will find more creative work that utilized background research for their creation, such as Ash Murray’s ‘Hunted: A tale of identity, self-discovery, mourning and acceptance.’ While these are only two examples of the stellar work within our journal, we wanted to showcase the wide array of talent in the Syracuse University undergraduate research community.”
“It was an absolute joy to work with such a talented and motivated group of students over the course of the semester,” says Dylan Mohr, open scholarship librarian at Syracuse University Libraries. “The reward at the end of this is both a SURFACE-hosted journal that showcases the incredible research and creative work done by the undergraduates at SU and a hands-on learning experience for students with the research and publishing process.”
