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With the appointment of a coordinator of undergraduate research, USC’s Research and Health Sciences division has launched a campus-wide initiative aimed at expanding student research opportunities in nearly every academic discipline.
Julie Morris is the new undergraduate research coordinator with an office on the fifth floor of the Byrnes Building. One of her first priorities is to establish a program that will offer stipends to a selected number of freshmen in fall 2005 and thereafter for research experiences with faculty. Details will be provided to student applicants.
“This program will include any discipline from traditional research areas such as the sciences and engineering to non-traditional fields such as theater and music,” Morris said. “Working with faculty in the laboratory or in the library is a great rounding experience for any undergraduate and something we should aspire to provide as a research university.”
Undergraduate research has been part of the landscape at USC for many years, particularly in marine science, several engineering disciplines, and in other science areas. The Undergraduate Research Initiative is intended to expand those efforts and more readily connect interested students with faculty in their disciplines.
“As we’re achieving more success in our sponsored research, we don’t want to leave the undergraduate teaching mission behind,” said Harris Pastides, vice president for research and health sciences. “This initiative will tie the two together and give students and even better reason to choose Carolina as the place to go to college.”
Morris plans to create a searchable database that lists all faculty members who currently involve or want to recruit undergraduates for research or professional scholarly activities. She also plans to address freshmen enrolled in University 101 classes to make them aware of such opportunities beyond the classroom.
“I took a lot of labs as an undergraduate in biochemistry and biotechnology, but it was an actual research project with a professor that helped me connect the content with real life,” said Morris, who also earned a master’s degree in genetic counseling from USC’s School of Medicine.
“This initiative is a wonderful testimony to the administration’s commitment to integrating the University’s teaching and research missions,” said Leslie Sargent Jones, associate dean for research-based learning in the Honors College. “It’s important that we provide additional opportunities for authentic experiences that give meaning to our undergraduates’ education.”
Morris plans to work with Karl Heider, associate provost and dean of undergraduate studies, and with the Division of Student Affairs to advance the initiative. She can be reached at 7-1141 or jamorris@gwm.sc.edu.
11/04
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