Newswise — Washington, DC-On October 27, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) will celebrate joining forces to form a new organization to strengthen the promotion of research at the undergraduate level. Nancy Hensel, CUR's Executive Officer, said, "The two organizations have always shared a common mission. By joining together, under one umbrella, the student, faculty, and institutional development aspects of undergraduate research, CUR will more effectively promote student engagement in research." Joining efforts will result in the ability to better achieve their collective mission and to better serve their members, students, and all institutions of higher education by providing the opportunity to strengthen external advocacy and to offer expanded services, more resources and focused awareness on the importance of undergraduate research.
Dr. Subra Suresh, newly appointed director of the National Science Foundation, will be the keynote speaker for the event. Suresh will discuss the importance of undergraduate research in the education of future scientists and other professionals, along with his own experiences with undergraduate research. The event will be held from 5:30-7:30 PM at the Library of Congress, Montpelier Room, James Madison Building. This event will highlight the history of these two organizations, along with presenting the experiences of several undergraduate student researchers. Throughout the event a slideshow will spotlight over 400 distinguished alumni from CUR member organizations who had participated in undergraduate research, included in the presentation are several Nobel Prize recipients, a secretary of state, an Emmy Award winner, and an Olympic Gold medalist.
More effective national leadership for the undergraduate research enterprise is a goal shared by CUR and NCUR. CUR and NCUR felt that, by combining to become one organization, they can more effectively provide national leadership for the undergraduate research enterprise as well as a holistic focus on undergraduate research and its value to students, faculty, institutions, and the public. By joining together, CUR/NCUR will provide a stronger national unified voice for undergraduate research.
Council on Undergraduate Research: The Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org) supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. Nearly 600 institutions and over 5500 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.
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