View this email in your browser
 
Grand Valley State University

Friends of OURS

See what we did there? Pretty clever, right? We welcome you back to a new semester in true OURS fashion! It is our intent to send you these newsletters twice per semester in order to keep you up to date on our program changes, deadlines, scholar and faculty recognitions, and national news about undergraduate research. We hope you find the newsletters informative and entertaining. Sprinkled throughout, you will see pop culture references, the occasional pun, and opportunities to interact. To that end, our first challenge is to name our newsletter! Send your suggestions to ours@gvsu.edu.
#FindYourGeek

Little Bytes in this Issue
Dr. Susan Mendoza

Calculated Thoughts

In this portion of the newsletter, Dr. Susan Mendoza, Founding Director of OURS, will bring you tweet-sized nuggets of current scholarship focused on undergraduate research and mentoring.
CUR recently published its inaugural issue of Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research (SPUR). SPUR is a great place to find best practices, models of assessment, and theoretical discussions about undergraduate research. In the Fall issue, Carol Geary Schneider from the Lumina Foundation discusses the role of undergraduate research and higher education in developing students’ ability to use evidence-based reasoning to engage in complex questions, and how recent research notes that we are not meeting students needs. Also, David Lopatto makes a case for assessments of undergraduate research to move away from dispositional terms such as persistence and identity, and shift to student decision making, judgment, and communication. He asserts that a focus on the latter will result in increased student adaptability and student success. https://www.cur.org/publications/SPUR/

In Focus

The best part of our job is helping you all to succeed. We are just thrilled to share in the joy of the following:
Work of Dr. Merrit DeLano-Taylor and undergraduates Nicholas Huisingh, Jordan Straight, Daniel Doyle and Douglas Peterson on Parkinson's Disease receives grant.
Dr. Deborah Herrington, among others, secure the Retaining and Inspiring students in Science and Engineering (RISE), which will create a set of progressively increasing four-year scholarships for at least 50 Grand Valley students who may not otherwise be able to afford a college education.

Game of Steppingstones

OURS programs are stepping stones, helping undergraduates navigate their research and creative curiosities at many levels. Students are supported from their first year to their last. The Winter 2018 semester provides many of those steps, from opportunities to engage in in-depth research and creative practice, to the chance to disseminate their work. Some of those opportunities are highlighted below, along with program information and deadline dates. 

Scholar Programs

Summer will be here before you know it. How will you be spending yours? Perhaps you will be mentoring an undergraduate student.
You might have a student who would be a great fit for the Beckman Scholars Program. Those proposals are also due January 26. Perhaps you have a student who would enjoy working with a Library Liaison through the GVSU Library Scholars Summer Program. Applications are due February 2 for that program.

Student Scholars Day

We have already had a lot of interest in this year's Student Scholars Day (SSD). Registration begins on February 5 and ends February 23. The actual event date is April 11, 2018. We can help you get the word out to your students. Submit a promotional materials request.

Invite an Ambassador to Class

We know you could use a fifteen to twenty minute break from teaching. We are here to help. Our Student Ambassadors present to many classes every semester about the virtues of doing undergraduate research, and what OURS can do to help them along on that path. Request a Presentation today!

OURS Winter 2018 Deadlines

Did you miss out on the OURS Program Calendar sent out in the Fall semester? Fear not! We have made it available on our website.

Knowing is Half the Battle

OURS is pleased to offer a free membership to the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). CUR provides a lot of great resources for faculty who wish to engage students in undergraduate research. Some examples from their most recent newsletters include:
December 14, 2017
  • National Humanities Alliance Sets 2018 Humanities Advocacy Day
  • Application Deadlines in Early 2018 for Student Travel Grants in CUR Divisions
  • CUR Biennial - July 1-3, 2018 - Arlington, VA

December 28, 2017
  • New Report from American Academy of Arts & Sciences Mentions Undergraduate Research
  • New Application Guide Issued, NSF Grants.gov
  • CUR EVENT 2018 CUR Dialogues, "A Sense of Mission: Pursuing Funding in Challenging Times"—Feb 15-17, 2018—Arlington, VA

New Arts and Humanities Endowment to Support Mentor Award, Other Initiatives at CUR

Find Your Geek

Remember when we said this will be interactive? While you are helping us with our newsletter's punny name, see if you can answer this! The first couple of folks who are able to identify the following reference will receive some OURS SWAG. Email your answer to ours@gvsu.edu. No Googling!
Identify the movie based on the following quote:
"So long, and thanks for all the fish."
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube
1 Campus Drive
230 Mary Idema Pew Library
Allendale, MI 49401
Unsubscribe from future emails.
Subscribe to our email list.