The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a membership organization founded in 1987 that supports the activity of undergraduate research. It sponsors various activities and events at campuses around the US to enhance the undergraduate research capacity of both faculty and students. Its office, staffed by an executive director and support staff, is in Washington, DC.

History

In 1987, the

Research Corporation Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) is an organization in the United States devoted to the advancement of science, funding research projects in the physical sciences. Since 1912, Research Corporation for Science Advancement has id ...

, particularly Brian Andreen, facilitated the establishment of a group of twelve research-active chemists from primarily undergraduate institutions to support and develop

undergraduate research Undergraduate research is often described as the exploration of a specific research topic by an undergraduate student that seeks to make an original contribution to the disciplinIt is a fairly recent concept in the academic community, with roots i ...

.Doyle, Michael. (1991). A Brief History of the Council on Undergraduate Research: The Early Years. ''CUR Quarterly'' 12(2): 17-23. https://www.cur.org/download.aspx?id=1850 This group expanded and added councils in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, and other areas.Michael P. Doyle, editor, (2002) ''Academic Excellence,'' Research Corporation, Tucson, AZ. The all-volunteer organization nominated and elected new councilors as those serving stepped down until 1990, when CUR voted to open itself to membership like most scientific organizations.Laura L Mays Hoopes, (2013) ''Breaking Through the Spiral Ceiling: An American Woman Becomes a DNA Scientist.'' 2nd edition. Lulu Publishing. Currently it has both individual and institutional memberships. CUR has meetings periodically to decide on directions and activities. In addition to membership meetings, CUR has dialogues with the major governmental funding agencies in the Washington DC area, workshops on how to set up and successfully run an undergraduate research program at a college or university, undergraduate research presentations (posters on Capitol Hill and a large national conference of students held after CUR merged with NCUR), and other topics. It has published directories of undergraduate research in chemistry, biology, physics, geology, psychology, and other fields as well as books advocating and explaining undergraduate research. It publishes two journals, ''CUR Quarterly'' and ''Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research.''

Merger

In 2010, CUR and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) merged their two organizations to form one, with CUR as the umbrella organization presenting a National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) annually."About CUR" section on "CUR and NCUR Join Forces" on CUR website, www.cur.org. Downloaded July 30, 2018."Strengthening Our Voice, 2009-2011, Triennial Report", Council on Undergraduate Research, downloaded July 30, 2018 from https://www.cur.org/historicalinformation.

Events and activities

The Council on Undergraduate Research offers NCUR annually and also offers posters on Capitol Hill, dialogues with NIH and NSF, a business meeting, a one-day conference for faculty mentors, and workshops on ways to develop undergraduate research programs. CUR also runs a consulting service and a program review service. CUR presents several awards including CUR Fellows for both faculty members and students. It has a speakers bureau and a registry of undergraduate researchers. The ''Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly'' contributes to the growth and development of undergraduate research endeavors across colleges and universities by highlighting best practices, models for mentoring, and the assessment of undergraduate research. The goal of the journal is to provide useful and inspiring information about student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship from all disciplines at all types of institutions in the United States and abroad.

Leadership

Presidents of the Council: * Michael P. Doyle 1979-1983, 1987-1989 * Jerry Mohrig 1983-1987 * Stuart Crampton 1989-1991 * Laura Hoopes 1991-1992 * Thomas Goodwin 1992-1993 * John Mateja 1993-1994 * Mary Allen 1994-1995 * Royce Engstrom 1995-1996 * Thomas Wenzel 1996-1997 * Neal Abraham 1997-1998 * Charlotte Otto 1998-1999 * David Elmes 1999-2000 * Toufic Hakim 2000-2001 * Michael Nelson 2001-2002 * Mitchell Malachowski 2002-2003 * Jill Singer 2003-2004 * Tim Elgren 2004-2005 * Mike Tannenbaum 2005-2006 *

Lori Bettison-Varga Lori Bettison-Varga (born ) is an American geologist and academic administrator. She is the president of the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. Previously, she was president of Scripps College, and held positions at Pomona College, the Colle ...

2006-2007 * Kerry Karukstis 2007-2008 * Jeffrey Osborn 2008-2009 * Diane Husic 2009-2010 * Elizabeth Paul 2010-2011 * Bill Campbell 2011-2012 * Mary Crowe 2012-2013 * Julio Rivera 2013-2014 * Ami Ahern-Rindell 2014-2015 * Roger Rowlett 2015-2016 * Susan Larson 2016-2017 * Anne Boettcher 2017-2018 * Iain Crawford 2018-2019 * Janice DeCosmo, 2019-2020 * Silvia Ronco, 2020-2021 * Jeanne Mekolichick, 2021-2022 * Ruth Palmer, 2022-2023

References

{{Authority control 1987 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1987 Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Research organizations in the United States Undergraduate education in the United States