Characteristic of Excellence Overview: To remain effective scholars throughout their careers, faculty need the opportunity to learn new research methodologies, obtain recurrent research training, establish external research collaborations and scholarly networks, complete scholarly pursuits, freshen mentorship skills, and develop strategies to ensure inclusive research environments as well as practices to ensure the highest levels of accessibility for all students. Many of these activities are part of a robust faculty mentoring program. Such professional development opportunities are critical to undergraduate research because faculty members who are current scholars in their areas of expertise are able to engage students in research that is relevant and conforming to modern praxis. Other professionals involved in overseeing undergraduate research also benefit from professional development, and relevant opportunities should be made available to them too.