Report pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
CUR and NCUR Join Forces on Undergraduate Research Kimberley A. Frederick* Department of Chemistry, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866 United States ABSTRACT: The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) have officially joined forces under the CUR banner. Building on a long-standing alliance, the joint organization will be a leading voice for undergraduate research both within the academic community and with external constituencies. The merged organization will also continue to support undergraduate research students through the annual NCUR meeting, and faculty mentors through publications, institutes, advocacy efforts, and the biannual national meeting, among other resources. KEYWORDS: Undergraduate Research FEATURE: Association Reports
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any in the undergraduate research community have long wondered about or been confused by the existence of two organizations focused on undergraduate research with very similar names: the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). After working alongside each other for many years, these two organizations have officially joined forces. A celebration of this union was held at the Library of Congress in October 2010 titled Recognizing Tomorrow’s Possibilities: Celebrating a New Era of Undergraduate Research.
1. We advocate the use of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activities within all academic disciplines and at all varieties of educational institutions. 2. We believe that students can become active scholars throughout their undergraduate education, not only in the last stages of their undergraduate careers. 3. We support faculty development efforts that assist faculty in mentoring student scholarship. 4. We advocate curricular reform within the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, and in applied professional programs that incorporates these principles within the best practices for each discipline. 5. We support state and national funding for undergraduate research in all disciplines and urge inclusion of such programs of support within public and private governmental and nongovernmental programs that serve to advance the arts, sciences, and professional programs. In June 2007, a joint task force was formed with equal representation from the two organizations. Extensive conversations identified a number of key advantages to combining efforts. During the 2010−2011 academic year, both CUR and NCUR boards voted to officially merge under the umbrella of CUR, which will continue to work with host institutions to sponsor the NCUR conference annually.
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THE MISSIONS OF CUR AND NCUR NCUR and CUR have similar missions, making the merger of the two a logical alliance. The mission of the Council on Undergraduate Research is to support and promote highquality undergraduate student−faculty collaborative research and scholarship. CUR efforts have long focused on developing faculty capacity to involve undergraduates in the research process, as well as advocating for these efforts with external constituencies, including funding agencies, government organizations, and college or university administrators. The National Conferences on Undergraduate Research, established in 1987, “is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students”.1 The annual NCUR meeting has been held in all areas of the country and involved student presentations in all fields. The 2011 NCUR meeting at Ithaca College, NY, involved 22,809 from 369 colleges and universities with over 260 of those presentations from chemistry-related disciplines.
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ADVANTAGES OF A JOINT CUR−NCUR ORGANIZATION Building on the historic strengths of the two organizations, the combined organization will better serve all the constituencies involved in undergraduate research. As Nancy Hensel, CUR Executive Officer, explains, “CUR and NCUR have always shared a common mission. By joining together, under one umbrella, the student, faculty, and institutional development aspects of undergraduate research, CUR will more effectively promote undergraduate student and faculty engagement in research and become the national voice for undergraduate research.”
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HISTORY OF CUR AND NCUR EFFORTS Coordination between the two organizations has been underway for nearly two decades. Beginning in the 1990s, CUR and NCUR have had conversations about collaborating on targeted projects. In 2005, the “Joint Statement of Principles in Support of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities” was approved by the CUR governing board and the NCUR Board of Governors, which included the following common principles of the two organizations:2 © 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed2005533 | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 183−184
Journal of Chemical Education
Report
The NCUR conference will continue to be the leading venue for presentations by undergraduate research students. “NCUR has a rich, 24-year history of providing opportunities for undergraduate students, from all disciplines and types of institutions, to showcase their research. Combining this student focus with CUR’s focus on faculty and institutional development will help to cultivate a more powerful, single voice advocating and celebrating the many benefits of undergraduate research”, states Tim Elgren, professor of chemistry, Hamilton College, NCUR board member and former CUR president (2004−2005). Building on CUR’s historic role in supporting faculty, the combined organization can provide a more holistic focus on undergraduate research, particularly in the wide variety of disciplines represented at NCUR and represented by the newly established CUR divisions of humanities and fine arts, social sciences, and undergraduate research program directors. The combined organization can be the singular home for resources to support the undergraduate research enterprise. These resources include institutes on grant writing, establishing an undergraduate research program, and institutionalizing undergraduate research practices as well as numerous publications, including the CUR quarterly. For the full list of professional development resources, please visit the CUR Web site.3 Finally, the newly combined organization can speak as the leadership voice in advocating for support of undergraduate research with external constituencies. CUR’s efforts have been critical in the formation of several funding mechanisms, including the NSF Research at Undergraduate Institutions and Research Experience for Undergraduates programs. Members will continue to serve as experts for congressional hearings, consultants for program reviews, and leaders in the national conversation about undergraduate education. The completion of the merger took place on June 18, 2011. The joint organization is called the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR).
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
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REFERENCES
(1) About NCUR. http://www.ncur.org/aboutNCUR.htm (accessed on Dec 2011). (2) Joint Statement of Principles in Support of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities. http://www.cur.org/ SummitPosition.html (accessed Dec 2011). (3) CUR Homepage. http://www.cur.org/ (accessed Dec 2011).
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed2005533 | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 183−184
