CUR’s volunteers come together to aid the work of CUR and support the overall mission of the organization by carrying out specific charges that are necessary to the operation of the organization. Committee and working group membership is a great way for CUR members to share their passion and expertise, build professional networks, gain leadership experience, and help shape the organization.
Standing Committees
These committees are constitutionally mandated by the CUR Bylaws. They include the following:
The Executive Committee consists of the Officers of CUR. The Executive Committee shall have full authority to manage and control the business and affairs of CUR between meetings of the Board of Directors and shall have the authority and power to act for and on behalf of the Board of Directors in all matters, and at all times subject to the direction and control of the Board of Directors.
Committee Members: Lindsay Currie, Maria Iacullo-Bird, James LaPlant, Karen Resendes, and Bethany Usher
The purpose is to provide guidance and support to the CUR’s Board of Directors to help ensure the financial health of the organization, and assist the board in achieving CUR’s strategic. priorities by monitoring the financial condition and financial strategy of the organization.
National Office Staff Liaison: Pam Dodge
Chair: Karen Resendes, Westminster College
In partnership with the staff, the Nominations and Leadership Development Committee is an essential part of the CUR governance process and serves as a year-round committee with responsibilities that include:
- Working with CUR leadership and staff to assess the qualities, skills, and diversity needed in Board leadership in each election cycle.
- Identify and recruit top-tier candidates.
- Engage in a fair and transparent process of vetting those candidates to put forward a qualified and strong slate.
- Oversee the process of leader selection/election
National Office Staff Liaison: Pam Dodge
Chair: Bethany Usher, Radford University
Informed by the current CUR Strategic Plan 2020-2025, the Board of Directors (BOD) Task Force will lead the strategic planning process for the next CUR Strategic Plan 2025-2030. The BOD Task Force will develop the new strategic plan to support and advance the vision, mission, and sustainability of CUR as the leading organizational voice for undergraduate research in the United States, and which also has significant international influence. To measure CUR’s progress in implementing the strategic plan and meeting strategic goals, metrics will be embedded in this strategic planning cycle to inform annual planning and to ensure sustained and comprehensive assessment.
National Office Staff Liaison: Pam Dodge
Chair: Bethany Usher, Radford University
Strategic Committees + Working Groups
These committees are established by the Board of Directors and deemed necessary to the ongoing work of CUR. They include the following:
Educate about advocacy and promote its practice to support the vision and mission of CUR by strengthening membership, elected leadership, and partner commitments to the value of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry (URSCI), and to active engagement in URSCI’s implementation and sustainability. Advocacy education will be approached holistically at all levels—federal, state, local, and institutional–to support and fund undergraduate research.
National Office Staff Liaison: Heather Wakefield
Co-Chairs: Lisa Theo, University of Wisconsin – Madison & Della Cronin, Bose Public Affairs Group
This committee will develop and implement programming to promote the values and goals of DEI within the CUR community. It is recognized that the work of this committee will be done in a cultural and political landscape in which commonly used language identified with access and inclusion has been challenged to the extent that it cannot be used on many campuses without deleterious consequences. In response, the committee’s work will contribute to re-envisioning the work of inclusivity in higher education through strategies and approaches that uphold DEI values while supporting all colleagues. Committee programming will support CUR members in building and sustaining inclusive undergraduate research programs and educational environments, and will help inform Board work in determining what DEI means for CUR.
National Office Staff Liaison: Heather Wakefield
Co-Chairs: Sophie Pierszalowski, University of Washington & Tim O’Neil, University of Colorado at Boulder
This advisory group will help CUR navigate change and prepare for the future by monitoring trends, issues, and patterns of change that can guide decisions and behaviors.
In addition, this advisory group will work with the National Office and Board of Director’s Executive Committee to guide and educate CUR on leveraging foresight as it looks to the future.
Chair: Sean Fox, Carleton College
This working group will conduct a thorough critique of the prototype created by the Nominations and Leadership Development Committee (NLDC) by assessing the efficacy of its design and structure for developing a CUR Elected Leadership Development Pipeline.  The Working Group’s assessment will clarify the efficacy of CUR’s elected leadership development infrastructure and contribute to Board strategic planning for leadership development.
National Office Staff Liaison – Lindsay Currie
Chair – Jeanetta Sims, University of Central Oklahoma
This task force will develop a new standard of CUR program review aligned with CUR’s mission, vision, and values that focuses on undergraduate research programs; the integration of undergraduate research in core curricula, and first-year experiences; and the scaffolding of undergraduate research in academic majors across disciplines and schools. As part of this redesign, the committee also will develop a process for identifying and training CUR reviewers to provide a high-quality and consistent CUR Program Review experience.
National Office Staff Liaison: Heather Wakefield
Committee Chair: Janet Morrison, The College of New Jersey
Award Committees
These committees are established to solicit and review applications for CUR awards and remain anonymous to allow for a fair and ethical process. They include the following:
The purpose of this committee is to solicit nominations and select the awardees.
The purpose of this committee is to review applications and prepare a recommendation for consideration for approval by the Executive Committee of the Executive Board.
The purpose of this committee is to review applications and prepare a recommendation for consideration for approval by the Executive Committee of the Executive Board.
This committee works in collaboration with the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation and the CUR National Office to solicit nominations, reviews, and select awardees.
The Silvia Ronco Innovative Mentor Award was established to recognize original and insightful research work by a young investigator working with undergraduates that has had significant impact in chemistry and the STEM careers of students involved.
Content & Programming Advisory Groups
These advisory groups are established to help support CUR as it develops content and programming. These advisory groups include the following:
The purpose of this committee is to ensure the annual conference supports professional development, learning, and networking objectives, and aligns with CUR’s strategic plan and values. This advisory group will guide development of themes and tracks and identify topics and speakers for the CUR Annual Conference that are suited to the needs of the undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry (URSCI) community.
National Office Staff Liaison: Heather Wakefield
Committee Chair: Tsu-Ming Chiang, Georgia College and State University
Leveraging the practice of Foresight and the expertise of the CUR Foresight Guidance and Resource Development Advisory Group, the Content Advisory Group will assess and help define the CUR community’s anticipated needs and the continuing role of CUR in thought leadership. The Advisory Group will review both existing published content to make recommendations for its continued efficacy, and recommend the generation of new substantive content for publication and other delivery formats. The Advisory Group’s work will include recommending future content development, and proposing operational processes and potential subject matter experts.
This group will guide the rapid advancement of the Undergraduate Research as a Career Readiness Tool position statement document within the national higher education conversation on career readiness.