No matter how long the professor lectures or how interested you are in the subject, true acquisition of knowledge and meaningful inquiry often take place outside the lecture hall. As more and more University students gain exposure to various disciplines of science, math, politics, engineering and literature among others, research is something that should be strongly encouraged by not only faculty, but organizations around Grounds. While the Undergraduate Research Network, or URN, has shed its label as a neophyte organization a while ago, it requires assistance from faculty and other CIOs on Grounds to become the behemoth of research it should be. To this effect, and with collaboration from faculty and other CIOs, students can challenge the current literature of any discipline and embark on a meaningful, intellectual journey to inform the community at large.
URN is the chief liaison for students to network with faculty to find research opportunities. It is composed of several different committees that include technology and advising, research and scholarship and workshops among others to provide undergraduate students with a panoply of opportunities to immerse themselves in research. Furthermore, URN holds an undergraduate research fair annually for students to meet peers involved in research and listen to findings in their project, no matter what field the students might be interested in.
While all of this is well and good, the offerings and meticulous work URN does every year do not reach many students interested in research. Indeed, while not these cases are not publicized, there are several students each year who want to be in research, but either cannot find a faculty member or laboratory that will accommodate them or simply could not find a project that thoroughly excites them. Several would argue this is an unfortunate, but unsolvable by-product of being a part of such a large University since there is always bound to be insufficient funding or faculty or projects. While this rebuttal is perfectly valid, there are more actions that several groups at the University, specifically faculty and other CIO’s, can take to ensure that inquiry and research are not restricted to those with good fortune or preexisting connections.
On the whole, faculty are extremely diligent and welcoming to undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a project with them. There is an important advertising tactic that almost every faculty member falls short of using. If each professor started to integrate opportunities for research into their lecture slides or add a list of research currently being spearheaded by faculty at the University in each unit of the curriculum, the number of students who would find themselves with a dearth of research opportunities would be minimized. Almost every class at this University can find a sibling in research. For example, when learning about the implications of the presidential elections for the concurrent state and local elections, one could receive exposure to political research at the University. In this way, if a student were particularly interested in a unit of the course and the instructor provided names of other faculty involved in research concerning each unit, that student could network with the desired faculty and engage in fruitful relationship with a faculty member and his research. To top it off, by pursuing a discipline or subdiscipline outside of the curriculum, students can appreciate whether or not they want to pursue the discipline after graduation.
Conversely, CIOs can also help URN provide students with an appreciation for research. Many clubs and organizations can work with URN to promote research opportunities for students through their weekly or monthly meetings, as well as bring in guest speakers from URN during a group meeting. More generally, because URN’s targeted demographic is all students, it becomes more important that other CIOs work collaboratively with URN to disseminate information generously and adequately. Because most CIOs at the University have a particular theme, whether it be politics, advocacy, service and so on, these CIO leaders can encourage members to engage in research in similar subjects to not only embark on an important academic journey, but strengthen their contribution to the CIO itself.
URN can certainly benefit from a more integrated approach to outreach through faculty and other contracted independent organizations. With a cohesive and collaborative approach and with students tackling the toughest questions, we will find that our University will continue to remain competitive as one of the most forward-thinking, dedicated universities in the world.
Sean Sequeira is a Viewpoint writer.
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