Chemical Education Today
Association Reports: CUR Council on Undergraduate Research: A Resource (and a Community) for Science Educators by Judith A. Halstead The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a The Council on professional organization dedicated to strengthening science Undergraduate and undergraduate science eduResearch (CUR) is cation. Central to the activities and programs sponsored by a professional CUR is the recognition that the organization investigative process, especially undergraduate student rededicated to search, plays a key role in an strengthening undergraduate science education. Publications, conferences, science and and other activities of CUR undergraduate have facilitated the establishscience education. ment and maintenance of a network of undergraduate teacherresearchers. For many members, myself included, the most important aspect of CUR is this sense of community provided by the opportunities to meet and work with colleagues who hold shared values and common expectations for science education. First established by a small group of prominent chemistry faculty in 1978, the Council on Undergraduate Research is now a rapidly growing multidisciplinary organization serving over 3,500 members in seven scientific and mathematical divisions, including biology, chemistry, geology, physics/astronomy, mathematics, and psychology (Fig. 1.). Chemists continue to play an important role in CUR; the Division of Chemistry, with more than 1,200 members, is the largest division. Central to the mission of CUR from its earliest years has been the publication of a directory of undergraduate research analogous to the American Chemical Society’s Directory of Graduate Research. The sixth edition of the CUR Directory of Research in Chemistry at
Figure 1. From the CUR website, http://bulldog.unca.edu/cur/, with permission.
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Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, published in 1995, provides information on 555 chemistry departments throughout the country. It includes contact information and information on individual faculty members, equipment and laboratory resources, instructional and laboratory space, teaching loads, and a host of additional subjects. The CUR directory is undoubtedly the standard source of easily accessed, comprehensive data on undergraduate chemistry departments. Analogous directories are now published for biology, geology, mathematics, physics, and psychology. Other CUR publications serving this undergraduate faculty network include the CUR Quarterly and CUR Notes. The CUR Quarterly features articles about issues affecting undergraduate research and information on funding opportunities. In CUR Notes, CUR leadership reports CUR news and activities. The special publication How To Develop an Undergraduate Research Program, available to nonmembers as well as CUR members, has been widely praised; it sold approximately 5,000 copies in 1995.1 Support and networking opportunities for faculty and administrators from Predominately Undergraduate Institutions (PUI) are also provided by several opportunities to share information face-to-face at CUR-sponsored meetings. Undergraduate research presents its own unique challenges and rewards. For me, meeting colleagues with similar priorities and commitments has been the most exciting and satisfying aspect of CUR. CUR-sponsored meetings include the biennial National Conference Series, the April Dialogue, and, most recently, CUR Institutes. The June 1996 CUR Conference, held at North Carolina Central University, focused on mechanisms for enriching science education and research through PUI partnerships with industry, government, graduate institutions, and the K–12 community. The Seventh CUR National Conference will be held at Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, in June 1998. Upcoming events for the spring of 1997 include the second CUR Institute and the third April Dialogue. The CUR Institute, scheduled for March 14–17, 1997, will feature product-oriented workshops and mentoring sessions on the topic “How to Institutionalize Undergraduate Research”. Teams of three to five faculty members and administrators from each participating institution develop an action plan to be implemented upon their return to home campuses. This program is primarily intended for CUR Institutional members with limited experience in undergraduate research but an interest in developing a strong research presence on their campus. The April Dialogue, to be held April 11–12, 1997, at the National Institutes of Health NIH) in Bethesda, MD, is open to CUR members and nonmembers. This is the third in a biennial series of meetings, which provide PUI faculty and administrators with an opportunity to interact with representatives from federal agencies and foundations. Speakers and panelists at April Dialogues typically include high-
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 74 No. 2 February 1997
Chemical Education Today
The Information Column level representatives from agencies such as NIH, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. April Dialogue programs include divisional workshops, CUR-wide workshops, and plenary presentations. Registration for the ’97 Dialogue will begin January 15th and will be limited to the first 400 registrants. For Science is the process of more information on this year’s Diapersonal discovery through logue, contact Nan experimentation and critical, Burnett at the CUR National Ofcreative thinking. …The fice. Council on Undergraduate Other CUR Research helps individual and programs that facilitate the maininstitutional members nurture tenance of an undergraduate rethis culture of learning by search community doing. include the CUR Consultants Service, CUR Speakers Bureau, the Institutional Liaison Program, and CURsponsored Student Summer Research Fellowships. The Chemistry Division of CUR has a Mentor Network designed to help individuals and departments without a rich history of undergraduate research to strengthen their programs. For additional information about CUR Chemistry Division activities, contact: Chemistry Division Chair, Professor Nancy Mills, Department of Chemistry, Trinity University, 715 Stadium Drive, San Antonio, TX 78212; phone: 210/736-7317; email:
[email protected]. Undergraduate research is increasingly valued as a critical component of an undergraduate science education. Science is the process of personal discovery through experimentation and critical, creative thinking. Students working side-by-side with faculty mentors learn not only from their own discoveries, but from close observation and guidance of their mentors, typically insatiable learners themselves. Essential to effective science teaching is this process of student/faculty immersion in a culture of learning. The Council on Undergraduate Research helps individual and institutional members nurture this culture of learning by doing. Watch this column for future CUR news periodically. In the meantime, for additional information on CUR activities and membership, visit our web site (http://bulldog.unca.edu/cur) or contact the CUR National Office (
[email protected]). Note 1. CUR publications are available from the CUR National Office (University of North Carolina at Asheville, 75 Zillicoa St., Suite 300, Asheville, NC 28801-1049; phone (704) 251-6006).
Judith Halstead is in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Phone 518/561-7400 ext. 2316; email
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Subscription Fulfillment: new, gift, renewal, change of address: see Reader Inquiry Card • A Guide for Submissions: see page 1246 of December 1996; also available from the Editorial Office by fax, email, or World Wide Web (JCE: Online) • JCE: Online: http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/ • Books and Other Publications: see A200 of September 1996 • JCE: Software orders, information: see page 193 of February 1997
ACS Division of Chemical Education, Inc. • Membership Information, Officers, or Newsletter: Jerry L. Sarquis, CHED Secretary, Department of Chemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056; 513/529-2819; 513/529-5715 (fax);
[email protected]; http://divched.chem.wisc/ed/divched/#top
Examinations Institute • ACS DivCHED Standardized Tests, Test Item Banks: Examinations Institute, 223 Brackett Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 864-656-1249; 864/656-1250 (fax);
[email protected]; http://tigerched.clemson.edu
Safety Guidelines • Minimum Safety Guidelines for Chemical Demonstrations: Jerry L. Sarquis, see above.
Lists of Available Textbooks and Other Classroom Materials • Book Buyer's Guide: a print resource in each September Journal; updates each March. • Chemical Education Resource Shelf: an online resource (http://www.umsl.edu/~chemist/books/ index.html) of JCE Internet, includes Index to Chemistry Textbooks in Print; has hyperlinks to publisher's sites; lists publisher’s addresses.
Organizations • American Chemical Society: 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; 202/872-4600; http://www.acs.org/ • AAAS: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005; 202/326-6640; 202/371-9526 (fax); http://www.aaas.org/ • NSTA: 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 222013000; 800/722-NSTA; http://www.nsta.org/ • National Science Foundation: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230; 703/306-1234; http://www.nsf.gov/ • U.S. Department of Education: Washington, DC 20202; 800/872-5327; http://www.ed.gov/
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