Student Research Initiative

The College has undertaken a series of efforts aimed at encouraging and supporting students who engage in faculty-mentored research, which together constitute the NHS Student Research Initiative. First, in academic year 2005-2006, a new Student Research Fund was established. The purpose of this new fund is to provide small grants in support of research and research-related travel by NHS undergraduate and graduate students (see the call for proposals at http://www.unco.edu/nhs/pdf/2007Call-SRF.pdf). The new fund has been well-received by the College’s faculty, many of whom have made personal contributions to support it. The long-term goal is to attract sufficient monies in this fund so that grants can be made from the interest produced. In the interim, the College made available in academic year 2006-2007 $5,000, which funded seventeen Student Research grants to undergraduate and graduate students in the College (see award list at http://www.unco.edu/nhs/highlights/srf_awardssp08.html).

In addition to the Student Research Fund, the College also established in its first year the NHS Student Research Celebration. This April event, which is held as part of the University’s annual Academic Excellence Week, brings together NHS faculty, staff, and students, as well as community supporters and other campus members, to celebrate the achievements of students who have engaged in significant faculty-mentored research experiences. In preparation for this event, faculty members from across the College select for participation approximately 25 undergraduate and graduate students who have successfully undertaken a research project. On the night of the Student Research Celebration, these students participate in a poster session in which they display posters that describe there projects, which they discuss with event attendees. This evening event is an elegant one held in the campus’ University Center; student presenters dress in a professional manner, refreshments are provided, and the poster session is accompanied by music, such as a string quartet or jazz piano performance. The poster session is immediately followed by a banquet in the University Center ballroom, in which the student researchers are honored. A highlight of the evening is a brief presentation by two top scholars, one at the undergraduate level and another at the graduate level, who will speak to the attendees about their engagement in research and the value they perceive from that activity. The individuals are also identified through a competitive process that includes nomination by their programs and an oral “audition” for a College selection committee.

A third effort undertaken by the College to support student research is to formally acknowledge those individuals who make it possible-the faculty. The College has established two awards- Faculty Research Mentor of the Year Awards at the undergraduate and graduate levels- to honor exemplary mentoring of student research by NHS faculty members. The recipients of these awards are honored as part of the Student Research Celebration banquet. Each is also recognized in a college-wide ceremony and provided with a $500 award to be used for his or her professional Development.