Karen Havholm—assistant vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs, and director of the Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration at University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire—has been elected treasurer of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). A member of CUR’s Undergraduate Research Programs Division who has served as a CUR Councilor and as a general representative to the CUR Executive Board, Havholm will begin her three-year term on the board on July 1, 2018. She will succeed Duncan McBride, who has served with distinction as CUR’s treasurer for more than six years.

Havholm received her bachelor’s degree in geology from the College of Wooster, where every undergraduate conducts faculty-mentored research. After teaching in a K–12 setting in Tehran, Iran, and Austin, Texas, she continued research toward master’s and doctoral degrees in geology at the University of Texas at Austin. Teaching at Colorado College and University of Washington was followed by her move to UW–Eau Claire, where she combined her geology and education backgrounds. As a faculty member in the Geology Department, she mentored 27 research students. Since her move in 2006 to lead the campus research office,  she has focused on advancing undergraduate research at UW-Eau Claire and has published and presented on undergraduate research issues at the state and national levels. In 2016, UW–Eau Claire received CUR’s Award for Undergraduate Research Achievement. Havholm is a past president of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, has served as a Councilor for the CUR Geosciences Division and Undergraduate Research Programs Division, has been a CUR Finance Committee member, and is a current member of the CUR Executive Board.

CUR Executive Officer Elizabeth L. Ambos said, “Karen Havholm brings broad experience with fiscal administration, program management, and grant-based research programs to the CUR treasurer position. She will be an effective and highly responsible treasurer for the organization.”

“It is an honor to be entrusted with the position of treasurer of CUR,” said Havholm. “I know from my time on the Finance Committee and the Executive Board that the national office and past CUR officers and executive boards have provided sound stewardship of CUR’s resources. I plan to follow in that tradition.”

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The Council on Undergraduate Research: The nonprofit Council on Undergraduate Research supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. More than 700 institutions and nearly 13,000 individuals belong to CUR. CUR believes that the best way to capture student interest and create enthusiasm for a discipline is through research in close collaboration with faculty members.

University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire: UW–Eau Claire is consistently rated among the top 10 public Midwestern universities and recognized nationally for quality academics and high return on investment, including its acclaimed undergraduate research programs. Established in 1916, UW–Eau Claire enrolls more than 10,000 students in its 80 bachelor’s, master’s, and certificate programs.