2020 AURA Awardees: Georgia College & State University; Utah State University
CUR Honors 2020 Recipients of the Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments
CUR will present its 2020 Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments (AURA) to Georgia College & State University (Milledgeville, GA) and Utah State University (Logan, UT) virtually on April 22, 2021. This award recognizes institutions with exemplary programs that provide high-quality research experiences for undergraduates.
Now in its sixth year, the AURA award draws on CUR’s Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research (COEUR), which outlines criteria for exceptional undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity programs. For AURA recognition, campuses must demonstrate depth and breadth in their undergraduate research initiatives and evidence of continual innovation. Institutions of different Carnegie classifications are considered for the award.
“The 2020 AURA recipients reflect a dedication to wide participation of students and disciplines, curriculum-based experiences, opportunities for student-faculty recognition and publication, and improvements based on data,” said Lindsay Currie, CUR’s executive officer. “Amid the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is inspiring to see the steadfast commitment of these higher education institutions to excellence in undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry on their campuses.”
Georgia College showed impressive growth of its undergraduate research program over a 10-year period. Its integration of undergraduate research with other proven high-impact practices, participation in dialogue on undergraduate research at a national level, application of survey data to improve the program, infusion of undergraduate research into curricula (including a capstone experience), and emphasis on interdisciplinary collaborations that involve many student populations provide a model for other campuses.
“We are grateful for this award as it recognizes the hard work and effort we’ve put into making undergraduate research a priority for our students,” said Steve Dorman, president of Georgia College. “This could not have been done without the dedication of faculty, department chairs, deans, staff, the provost, and others who have worked for many years to establish a strategic way to engage our students in research.”
Hosting one of the oldest undergraduate research programs in the country, Utah State engages large numbers of students and faculty in research across colleges, offers significant opportunities for presentation and publication of undergraduate research (such as biannual research symposia), and builds institutional structures that recognize student and faculty service in undergraduate research, The university’s commitment to assessment offers clear measurement of learning outcomes, and its program shows promise for easy adaptation to varied institutional types.
“Undergraduate research is central to who we are as a land-grant institution,” said Noelle Cockett, president of Utah State University. “Student research and creative inquiry combines the strengths of our three-part mission of learning, discovery, and engagement. We know firsthand the exceptional benefits that come from strengthening ties between our undergraduates and our faculty researchers and having them tackle projects that are important to our state, nation, and the world.”
Founded in 1978, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is an organization of individual, institutional, and affiliate members from around the world that share a focus on providing high-quality and collaborative undergraduate research, scholarly, and creative activity opportunities for faculty and students. More than 700 institutions and more than 13,000 individuals belong to CUR. CUR believes that faculty members enhance their teaching and contribution to society by remaining active in research and by involving undergraduates in research, and that students engaged in undergraduate research succeed in their studies and professional advancement.
As Georgia’s public liberal arts university, Georgia College offers undergraduate programs of study to talented and motivated students in a residential college setting. Georgia College also provides graduate and professional studies that support the needs of the region and create pathways to individual success and personal fulfillment. Its academically engaging, student-centered programs often take learning beyond the traditional classroom and develop the intellectual, professional, civic skills and dispositions that enable graduates to thrive in a rapidly evolving, complex and technologically infused world.
Founded in 1888, Utah State University (USU) is Utah’s land-grant and space-grant university. USU is a Carnegie RU/H (Research University/High Research Activity) institution with approximately 27,700 students (24,660 undergraduates and 3,040 graduate students) on the Logan main campus. Utah State’s statewide system features eight campuses and 23 education centers and serves all counties in the state with Extension programs.
Honorees Announced, SPUR Best Article Awards (Vol. 3)
The SPUR Best Article subcommittee of the Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research Editorial Board has selected the following honorees in the inaugural SPUR Best Article Awards:
Best Article: Bruce Evan Blaine (Dept. of Mathematical and Computing Sciences, St. John Fisher College), “Toward Greater Reproducibility of Undergraduate Behavioral Science Research” (SPUR, vol. 3, no. 1, fall 2019)
Honorable Mention: Franziska Nikolov, Constanze Saunders, and Heike Schaumburg (Professional School of Education, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin / Institute for German as a Foreign and Second Language and Intercultural Studies, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena), “Preservice Teachers on Their Way to Becoming Reflective Practitioners: The Relevance of Freedom of Choice in Research-Based Learning” (SPUR, vol. 3, no. 4, summer 2020)
Honorable Mention: Mitchell R. Malachowski (Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of San Diego), “Reflections on the Evolution of Undergraduate Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions Over the Past 25 Years” (SPUR, vol. 3, no. 2, winter 2019)
In making its decision, the subcommittee considered excellence with respect to the journal’s evaluation criteria, specifically “manuscripts that describe novel programs that can serve as models for other institutions, those containing significant assessment of outcomes, and those articulating research on the efficacy of undergraduate research programs.” It also weighed timeliness (addressing current issues in undergraduate research) and/or timelessness (demonstrating the potential of value over time), broad appeal in terms of generalizability to disciplines and types of institutions, and pedagogical value.
The Best Article honoree receives a $100 honorarium and a certificate. The Honorable Mention honorees receive certificates.
Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research publishes scholarly work that examines effective practices and novel approaches, explores pedagogical models, and highlights the results of assessment of undergraduate research. As a peer-reviewed publication of the Council on Undergraduate Research, the journal provides useful and inspiring information that increases understanding of undergraduate student-faculty engagement in research, scholarship, and creative work in all disciplines and at all types of higher education institutions in the United States and abroad.
CUR Biology Division Announces Recipients of Small Research Grants
The CUR Biology Division has selected the following recipients of its small research grants (maximum $250 each), designed to assist undergraduate research mentors in conducting a research project with biology undergraduates:
• Paula Checchi, associate professor of biology, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY. Project: Validation and Characterization of a Mutant Generated by CRISPR-Cas9 Genetic Engineering.
• John J. Dubé, associate professor of biology, Chatham University, Pittsburgh. Project: Bridging the Gap in Understanding of Physical and Mental Health.
• Ava Howard, associate professor of biology, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR. Project: Water Stress of the Dominant Tree Species in Threatened Pacific Northwest Savannah-Woodland Oak Ecosystems.
• Joong-Wook Park, associate professor, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Troy University, Troy, AL. Project: Distribution of Waterborne Pathogenic Bacteria in the Mobile Bay Area
CUR Leadership Statement
The Council on Undergraduate Research serves a broad and diverse community of academic mentors who support and guide the scholarly work of our future leaders. This past year has been exceptionally trying for our community as we have been disproportionately affected by emotional, physical, and financial impacts of a global pandemic, the continued fight to end institutional racism, and most recently the attack on the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the results of a lawful election and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. We are here to support you as you support your students during these difficult times. We believe that the mission and vision of CUR is more timely than ever. Providing our future leaders with the necessary skills to question, collaborate, and communicate thoughtfully, respectfully, and effectively with a broad community will better equip them for an unpredictable future. We are preparing future leaders by building their self-confidence, nimbleness in the face of unexpected obstacles, belief in the need for supporting evidence, and so much more. The more we reach out to diverse communities of students and mentors, the greater the opportunity for impactful societal change. CUR will continue to advocate for increased support to make these opportunities more broadly accessible; provide platforms for sharing, learning, and support; and focus on developing an organizational culture and community that actively prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Silvia Ronco (President), Janice DeCosmo (Immediate Past-President), Jeanne Mekolichick (President-Elect), Lindsay Currie (Executive Officer)