Social Science and Art Hall

The Social Science and Art Hall opened in 2008. SSPR faculty offices, classrooms, and study areas are located on the second floor. The Wood's House suite on the first floor serves as an informal gathering space and features a kitchenette, comfortable furniture and fireplace.

International Travel Courses

The European cultural trip, co-led by professors from SSPR and the School of Communication & Arts, is among BVU's most well-established travel courses, having been offered on a regular basis since the 1970s. During the trip, students spend several days each in cities across the continent. Past trips have visited Amsterdam, Munich, Rome, Paris, London, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Venice, Pompeii, Canterbury, Barcelona and Florence. Other recent international travel classes that have been co-led by SSPR faculty include trips to Turkey & the Greek Isles, Russia, China, New Zealand, Vanuatu, and Ireland.

Speakers

Recent speakers who have visited campus in conjunction with SSPR programs include anti-racism activist Jane Elliott, creator of 'brown-eyed/blue-eyed' classroom exercise; death penalty abolition advocate Sister Helen Prejean, author of the book Dead Man Walking; Jane E. Jarrow, president of Disability Access Information and Support (DAIS); Dr. Gideon Frieder, Holocaust survivor; and Dr. Ron Byrnes, expert on education and globalization. Social work courses have brought speakers to class from the local El Salvadoran-American community to help students better understand issues facing immigrants in their transitions to life in the U.S.

Regional Conferences

Students from all programs in SSPR attend regional and state academic conferences to present their research and gain experience in professional settings. Among the annual events to which SSPR students regularly travel are the conferences of the following organizations:

- Midwestern Psychological Association (Chicago)
- Midwestern Criminal Justice Association (Chicago)
- Iowa chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (Des Moines)
- Iowa Sociological Association
- Midwest Sociological Society
- American Society of Criminology
- Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society

Conferences attended also include:

- Great Plains Undergraduate Theology Conference
- University of South Dakota Student History Conference
- Missouri Valley History Conference
- Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference
- Midwest Political Science Undergraduate Research Conference (held at BVU in 2009)