October 29, 2002 - 3:30-5:00 p.m. -- Newcomb Hall, Room 481

Present: Marcia Childress, Roseanne Ford, Larry Bouchard, Paul Kingston, Claire Cronmiller, Reginald Garrett, Arlene Keeling, Houston Wood, III

Guest: Nicole Hurd - Director, Center for Undergraduate Excellence

Marcia Childress, Chair of the Research and Scholarship Committee, called the meeting to order.

Welcoming remarks and introductions were made.

Ms. Childress stated that the two main carry forward initiatives from last year's committee work were the Faculty Senate David Harrison Awards for Undergraduate Research and the on-line student course evaluations.

The work on the on-line student course evaluations has moved to the College of Arts and Sciences. Ms. Childress said the Research and Scholarship Committee might need to revisit the issue at a later date.

Ms. Childress announced the resignation of a Committee member. Jenny Strauss Clay, Department of Classics, has resigned, effective immediately, due to her existing workload.

Faculty Senate David A. Harrison Awards for Undergraduate Research

There had been some concerns regarding funding for this year's Harrison Awards. These concerns have been resolved. The awards will be funded again this year at $160,000, with $100,000 coming from the Harrison Trust, and $60,000 coming from the Office of the Provost. It was noted that the University administration considers this initiative to be an important program, with enthusiastic student and faculty participation. Last year's Harrison Awards Symposium was discussed, as planning begins for this year's awards.

Ms. Childress introduced Nicole Hurd, Director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence. Ms. Hurd will be coordinating this year's Harrison Awards. There are two symposiums sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, one in the fall semester, and one in the spring semester. Each event features 12 students that present their research. The events are very well attended, and the press covers the events. Ms. Hurd announced that the Center is sponsoring an undergraduate research symposium on November 21, 2002, from 10:30-5:00 p.m., in Newcomb Hall. The symposium will include presentations of research done by some of the Harrison Undergraduate Research Award recipients. The Research and Scholarship Committee asked to review the Harrison Award presentations and proposals that will be showcased at the Research Symposium on November 21. Ms. Hurd mentioned another event that the Center is sponsoring, known as "Brain Food." These sessions are held in Jefferson Hall, and present a venue for students to discuss their research. Each student researcher is paired with a faculty mentor, Ms. Hurd said. The Research and Scholarship Committee decided that this year's Harrison Awards would be announced at the Research Symposium on November 21, and the Awards will be widely advertised through various means. The deadline for receiving applications will be February 1, 2003, and Award recipient decisions will be announced on March 5, 2003. Ms. Hurd distributed a draft for the Harrison Undergraduate Research Awards announcement. Some minor changes were suggested. Ms. Hurd will make the edits, and the document will be placed on the Faculty Senate web site. Ms. Childress will contact Susan Perry, last year's Committee chair, and request the template she created to be used by the readers to rate the research proposals. The Committee discussed the idea of creating guidelines for faculty to use when writing letters of recommendations for students, and the expectations of the mentoring relationship with Award recipients. It was decided that this is not necessary, since the subject is dealt with in the research awards announcement. Ms. Childress agreed to contact the Provost's Office to inquire about the possibility of the faculty stipends, which are given to faculty advisors of Harrison Award recipients, being put into gift or departmental accounts instead of being processed as wages.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.