Council On Undergraduate Research Research Articles

Reinvigorating the Undergraduate Experience with a Research-Supportive Curriculum

The programs, publications, meetings, and services of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) are expressly designed to share successful models and strategies for establishing and institutionalizing undergraduate research programs. A research-supportive curriculum that provides undergraduates with a learning experience rooted in the process of discovery is a critical factor in establishing a strong research culture on campus. The newest publication of CUR, Reinvigorating the Undergraduate Experience: Successful Models Supported by NSF's AIRE/RAIRE Program, is a collection of case studies highlighting twenty institutions that have successfully transformed the undergraduate experience through an integration of research and education.

Getting Started in Research with Undergraduates

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a leading advocate and promoter of high-quality collaborative undergraduate student-faculty research. This article outlines the activities and programs of CUR and briefly describes services available to CUR members. Two of CUR's How to… booklets are described that relate to starting a research career and mentoring of undergraduate students. The article highlights forthcoming conferences and institutes sponsored by CUR and notes new features of the CUR Quarterly that are of special interest to faculty who supervise undergraduate researchers. Readers are directed to the CUR Web site for additional information.

The CUR Institute on Proposal Writing

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has established a new Institute on Proposal Writing designed to assist faculty in writing research grant proposals. The Institute will accommodate about 48 participants from all fields covered by CUR (natural sciences including engineering as well as sociology and related disciplines). Each participant will be matched with other proposal writers and a facilitator in their field. On average, each group will consist of four proposal writers and one facilitator. The facilitators are faculty and administrators who are experienced and successful proposal writers and critics; all have received grants from many different agencies, and most have served on review panels. Last year there were facilitators with expertise in virtually every important granting program, and this year should be no different.

Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowships Undergo Change

At the 22nd Annual Council Meeting of Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), held this past June at the College of Wooster, the general council voted to make fundamental changes to the Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowship Program. The most important change is that awards will no longer be made to individual students. Instead, awards will be made to individual faculty member on the basis of applications written by faculty members comprised of a curriculum vitae, a description of the proposed research project, and the role of undergraduate collaborators in the proposed research activities. This change brings the program more in line with the overall CUR objective to support faculty in their efforts to provide research experiences for undergraduate students. Faculty members selected for awards will be asked to designate a student recipient at the time the funds are awarded, a key change to the fellowship program.

CUR 2000: The Many Facets of Undergraduate Research

The biennial Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) National Conference is designed for anyone interested in undertaking or promoting undergraduate research. It will help faculty members begin or remain active in a career that integrates teaching and research. The Many Facets of Undergraduate Research is the theme of the CUR Eighth National Conference, to be held at The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, from June 22 to 24, 2000.

Shaping the Future: CUR Seventh National Conference Continues a National Dialogue

On the final day of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Seventh National Conference, participants gathered in small groups outdoors in the beautiful southern California weather to discuss individual responses to the NSF report "Shaping the Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology" . This report was commissioned by the Advisory Committee to the NSF Directorate for Education and Human Resources and delivered to NSF in the spring of 1996. It has succeeded in initiating an active national discussion on the nature of teaching and learning in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMEandT) and is expected to heavily influence undergraduate science education in the next decade. In December 1997, CUR contributed a white paper on faculty issues to a national forum (sponsored by Project Kaleidoscope) on the NSF report "Shaping the Future" (2). This white paper, "Elaborating on the Recommendations to and for SMEandT Faculty", by CUR past-president Neil Abraham and CUR National Executive Officer Elaine Hoagland, is available on-line at the CUR Web site (http://www.cur.org). Both the NSF report and the CUR white paper were made available to CUR National Conference participants prior to the Saturday morning discussions.

CUR: Creating Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Changing Communities

"Creating Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Changing Communities" will be the theme of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Seventh National Conference to be held at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, June 25-27, 1998. The CUR biennial National Conferences provide support and networking opportunities for faculty and administrators from predominately undergraduate institutions. In addition, there are opportunities for interaction with representatives from public and private funding agencies, industry, and the K-12 community. Anyone interested in undertaking or promoting undergraduate research is encouraged to attend. CUR conferences provide the opportunity for faculty members involved in undergraduate research to meet face-to-face with colleagues with similar priorities, commitments, and challenges. Deans and other college administrators will also have the opportunity for the exchange of ideas and information pertaining to issues affecting undergraduate research and science education. The three-day conference includes dozens of interactive workshops, plenary sessions, guest speakers, and poster sessions. This is the first CUR National Conference to be held on the West Coast.

Association Reports: Council on Undergraduate Research: An Investment in Tomorrow: Undergraduate Research Students Meet Members of Congress

58 college and university students met Members of Congress and their staffs at the first Undergraduate Research Poster Session on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR).

Council on Undergraduate Research: A Resource (and a Community) for Science Educators

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a professional organization dedicated to strengthening science and undergraduate science education. Central to the activities and programs sponsored by CUR is the recognition that the investigative process, especially undergraduate student research, plays a key role in an undergraduate science education.

What?s CUR?

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a professional membership organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting undergraduate research as the most effective way for faculty to teach and students to learn science at primarily undergraduate institutions. This model supports hands-on, discovery-based learning in the undergraduate setting. The physical boundaries between classroom and laboratory are all but eliminated. The Council’s database serves as a national resource on undergraduate research and is used to generate information published in a series of Directories that provide a clear picture of the variety of academic settings that nurture undergraduate research.

Undergraduate Research Gaining a Higher Profile

When the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) started planning for July conference at Colgate University, the planners expected that perhaps as many as 150 might be attracted to the event. Instead, nearly 300 people showed up, representing 150 schools from 34 states. The crowd included more than 100 chemists, more than 50 biologists, about 25 physicists, smattering of other kinds of scientists, and couple of dozen college presidents, deans, and other administrative types. The high attendance suggests that people finally are starting to show some respect for research at four-year colleges. Indeed, such conference wouldn't have been possible eight or 10 years ago, says Jerry R. Mohrig of Carleton College, current president of CUR and one of the conference organizers. That was a time of retrenchment, and the National Science Foundation was getting out of the education business, he notes. But today, the climate for undergraduate research is improving. For example, ...