News

Linda Blockus—director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of Missouri–Columbia—has been elected to the Executive Board of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Representing CUR’s Undergraduate Research Programs Division (URP), Blockus will begin a three-year term on the board in summer 2021.

On April 12–14, 2021, students from colleges and universities around the world will participate in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR2021@Home), sponsored by CUR. This year, faculty mentors and more than 3400 undergraduate researchers will come together online to share their research on topics ranging from forecasts of Martian weather conditions to an array of COVID-19 projects such as the pandemic’s effect on playing style in the NBA.

In 1975, Utah State University funded the first Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunity (URCO) grant, and in doing so became only the second institution to fund undergraduate research in a deliberate and dedicated way. In February 2021, our 45-year dedication to undergraduate research was recognized by the Council on Undergraduate Research as the best in the nation. In this episode of Instead, we give you a sneak peek into why this program is so important to who we are as a university.

The Council on Undergraduate Research announces the results of its recent election: President-Elect: Ruth J. Palmer Treasurer: Karen G. Havholm Council Representatives to the Executive Board: Linda Blockus (U Missouri Columbia), Sarah K. Johnson (Moravian College), Nicole Snyder (Davidson College) General Representative to the Executive Board: Jennifer Thorington Springer (IUPUI)

Karen G. Havholm—former assistant vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs, and former director of the Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire—has been elected to a second term as treasurer of the Council on Undergraduate Research.

Ruth J. Palmer, associate professor emerita in the School of Education at The College of New Jersey, has been elected as president-elect of the Council on Undergraduate Research. She will take office as president-elect in summer 2021 and become president of the organization in summer 2022.

Jennifer Thorington Springer—associate dean of student affairs, founding director of the RISE Program, professor of English, adjunct professor in the Women Studies and Africana Studies Programs, and an affiliate faculty member in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)—has been elected to the Executive Board of the Council on Undergraduate Research. Thorington Springer will serve as a general representative to the board.

Nicole Snyder—professor of chemistry and assistant dean for research and creative works at Davidson College (NC)—has been elected to the Executive Board of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Representing CUR’s Chemistry Division, Snyder will begin a three-year term on the board in summer 2021.​

Sarah K. Johnson—associate professor in the Department of Psychology/Neuroscience at Moravian College in Pennsylvania—has been elected to the Executive Board of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Representing CUR’s Psychology Division, Johnson will begin a three-year term on the board in summer 2021.

Dominick J. Casadonte Jr., Minnie Stevens Piper Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Tech University, is the 2021 CUR-Goldwater Scholars Faculty Mentor Awardee.