Last year, only one out of six applicants for the Harrison Award received a scholarship. The odds are significantly better for this year's applicants, however: Almost one in every two will receive the award.
The Harrison Awards are scholarships that allow undergraduates at the University to pursue independent projects.
The dramatic ratio difference this year results from a decrease in applicants as well as an increase in the number of awards.
Ninety-five undergraduates applied to the Faculty Senate for this year's awards, said Senate member Francis Peyton. They are competing for 40 available scholarships.
Last year, the first year the scholarships were awarded, 150 applicants competed for only 25 awards.
Peyton said that since this is only the second year the awards program has been in place, the Faculty Senate cannot tell why applications fell by just over one third.
The awards were the brainchild of former Faculty Senate Chairman David T. Gies.
For many years, University alumnus David A. Harrison had been contributing money to the University to fund research projects.
Last year, Gies had the idea of using this money to allow undergraduates to perform research.
Previously, the University had no program to fund independent research projects for undergraduates, Peyton said.
"I wanted to find a way to recognize the intellectual work of students and combine with some faculty mentoring," Gies said.
University President John T. Casteen III approved the plan, which was put into effect last fall.
The application process for students is straightforward. The student formulates a project proposal and requests a professor to be his or her advisor.
If the faculty member agrees, he or she sends a recommendation along with the research proposal to the Faculty Senate.
A committee of Senate members then reviews the applications and awards scholarships to the winners based on the budget request of the application. Awards can be for up to $3,000.
Last year, winning applicants represented all aspects of the University. Research projects covered the fields of religious studies, women's studies, environmental sciences, architecture, anthropology and history, among many others.
Faculty Senate members said although not all of last year's projects are completed yet, feedback was very positive. "Students are very enthusiastic ... as are the faculty advisors," Peyton said.
Bill Kehoe, Chairman of the Senate's Research and Scholarship Committee, agreed. "The Harrison Awards provide a wonderful opportunity for students and faculty to work together in the scholarship of learning," Kehoe said.
Although the awards were originally provided with a one-year fund of $100,000, they have been extended for three more years with a budget of $160,000 each year.
There will be a symposium later in the semester for last year's scholarship winners to present the results of their work, Peyton said.
This year's contenders will have their applications forwarded to a special sub-committee of the Faculty Senate's Research and Scholarship Committee, which will make the final decision at the end of this semester.
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