Chemical Education Today edited by
Association Report: CUR
Judith A. Halstead
Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowships Undergo Change
Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
by Timothy E. Elgren
ulty 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 has also refocused the criteria used for selecting faculty awardees, specifically by encouraging proposals that represent new research endeavors. These could include newly appointed faculty initiating their research programs or midcareer faculty who seek to explore new areas of research. Criteria for selecting awardees will be the overall quality of the project, the research environment, and the faculty member. Proposals are evaluated by faculty reviewers from the discipline of the applicant. The change from student to faculty awardees means that the application deadline is moved up to November 15, 2000, with notification in early spring. Electronic submission of applications will be facilitated through the CUR Web site (www.cur.org/ugsf.html). Awards up to $4000 will be made for the 8–10-week summer research fellowship with a minimum of $3000 designated for the student stipend. The balance of the award may be used for supplies and/or travel. Over the past decade the Summer Fellowship Program has been funded by a variety of government, corporate, and individual sponsors.1 The Brian Andreen Undergraduate Research Fund was established in 1998 to provide additional summer research stipends, thanks to an initial donation from the Murdock Charitable Trust and subsequent individual contributions from CUR members and friends. The Fund is named in honor of Andreen, the founder of CUR, and acknowledges his longtime service toward implementing and institutionalizing undergraduate research activities, particularly in his role as president of the Research Corporation. More information about the Council on Undergraduate Research and the Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowships can be found at the CUR Web site (www.cur.org) or by contacting the CUR national office (202/783-4810).
The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) encourages research involving undergraduate students at primarily undergraduate private and public colleges and universities. Student/faculty research collaborations have become the hallmark of the science education experience at most primarily undergraduate institutions. It is in this environment that students experience the excitement and dynamic nature of scientific inquiry. Students who have worked closely with a faculty member during a summer frequently cite this intensive research time as one of the most profound experiences of their college education. For many students, the opportunity to experience research is a substantive influence on their decision to pursue a science-related career. Since 1990, one of the most popular and successful CUR-sponsored programs has been the Undergraduate Research Summer Fellowship Program (1). During the past decade, this program has provided summer research stipends to more than 300 students, enabling them to engage in science research experiences at their home institutions. Awards have been made to students on the basis of their academic records, the quality of written project proposals, and the experience of their chosen faculty mentors. At the 22nd Annual CUR Councilor Meeting, held this past June at the College of Wooster, the general council voted to make fundamental changes to this program. The most important change is that awards will no longer be made to individual students. Instead, awards will be made on the basis of applications written by faculty members comprising of a curriculum vitae, a description of the proposed research project, and the role of the undergraduate collaborator 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. The funds provided by the award will still be used largely to provide student summer salary. Fac-
Notes Photo by Marianita Amodio
The close student–faculty interaction associated with summer undergraduate research experiences has become the hallmark of the science educational experience at most primarily undergraduate institutions. John Doench, Heather VanGuilder, and Christie Donchevich, undergraduates at Hamilton College, discuss recent results with Tim Elgren, their faculty mentor.
1. Funding sources for the Summer Fellowship Program have included the American Cyanamid Company, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Merck Research Foundation, Pfizer, Inc., Rohm & Haas Corporation, the National Science Foundation, and anonymous donors.
Literature Cited 1. Wright, L. CUR Quarterly 1998, 19, 34.
Timothy E. Elgren is a member of the Department of Chemistry, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13323;
[email protected].
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 9 September 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education
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