Colin Laroque, professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, has been selected as the 2018 CUR Geosciences Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardee. This annual award of the Council on Undergraduate Research's Geosciences Division recognizes an individual who serves as a role model for productive and transformative student-faculty mentoring relationships and for maintaining a sustained and innovative approach to the enterprise of undergraduate research. The award will be presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, IN, in early November.
Laroque, the eighth CUR Geosciences Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardee, earned his BS degree at the University of Saskatchewan, and his MS and PhD degrees at the University of Victoria. With specialties in dendrochronology, tree ring/soil relationships, alpine and northern treed ecosystems, and environmental education, Laroque embodies longstanding excellence in and commitment to “learning through research” by embedding research in the curriculum. Devoted to expansive opportunities, he has provided authentic research experiences to students in first-year seminars and throughout their undergraduate careers through extensive collaborations between higher education institutions and national laboratories. Students highlight the substantial impact of his mentoring on their education and lives, noting that he “goes out of his way to give students ownership over their own learning.” Known as a powerful ally, colleague, and collaborator, Laroque also mentors graduate students and other colleagues in university and laboratory settings in the effort to build effective experiences for undergraduates and others in the research team. These collaborations have provided impactful and sustained experiences at the national and international levels.
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The Council on Undergraduate Research supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. More than 700 institutions and more than 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.
The University of Saskatchewan (USask) is one of Canada’s oldest and most distinguished universities. Established in 1907, USask is a member of the U15 Group of Canadian research-intensive universities and is the only university to hold two Canada First Research Excellence Chairs.
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