“Undergraduate research introduces students to the joy of discovery, and makes the process of learning active, rather than passive – a process that engages students in new and different ways,” Rodney Erickson, executive vice president and provost, told the Board of Trustees today (May 11).

Erickson said that involvement in research can often help students decide on a career path or rule out certain careers. It can also help them decide if graduate school is the right choice for them. And, it can help position them for added success in their future work or studies. “With the cooperation of the academic deans at Penn State, we have been able to increase the number of students who are engaged in undergraduate research opportunities,” he said. “And, our experience indicates that this is an educational activity that doesn’t cost large sums of money.”

Erickson said the President’s Fund for Research, administered from his office, gives funds to the colleges for the exclusive use of supporting undergraduates in the research enterprise. Each college is required to match the central funding provided. “Our data from the 1999-2000 academic year show that $241,000 in total funding supported at least 295 projects involving 200 faculty and more than 470 undergraduates,” he said.

Erickson said the University also benefits when undergraduates are involved in research.  “Undergraduate students ask questions that can be very insightful, and can change the ways in which we as faculty approach research questions,” he said. “They force us to respond to questions in different ways and on different terms than we often do with graduate student and other faculty members.”

Research also helps students understand the relevance of their studies and sparks their intellectual curiosity. Erickson said offering strong programs supporting undergraduate research is also a valuable recruiting tool. “Universities increasingly feature undergraduate research as a selling point in their recruiting messages,” he said.  “After all, the potential involvement of undergraduates is one of the most important assets that research universities such as ours have to offer prospective students.”

Erickson cited several examples of undergraduate research at Penn State, including:

-       CAUSE, the Center for Advanced Undergraduate Study and Experience, located in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. CAUSE funds seminars that allow students to do theme-based research both in the classroom and out in the field;

-       Archeology fieldwork in southern Egypt. Students from geosciences, art history, arts, and landscape architecture regularly participate under the direction of several Penn State faculty; and 

-       Rethinking Urban Poverty, an annual service-learning project lead by Lakshman Yapa, associate professor of geology, which researches urban poverty in Philadelphia. Undergraduates from a variety of disciplines undertake research-based thesis projects looking at different aspects of urban life. 

“Research universities are showing once again that research and undergraduate education are not in conflict, but strongly complement each other,” said Erickson. “Through research, we are able to offer personal attention and hands-on experiences to our undergraduate students. Students tell us that these experiences are making a real difference in their lives.” 

Also appearing before the Board were three students who participated in research at Penn State as undergraduates. Ryan Newman, a graduating senior and an economics major in the Smeal College of Business Administration, received one of the first international research grants sponsored by the Schreyer Honors College.  His research in Cameroon was presented at an international demography conference in Washington, DC. Kelly Walkovich, a graduating senior in biochemistry and molecular biology, received the Gerard Houser award for the top entry at this year’s Undergraduate Research Exhibition.  Ndidi Moses, a McNair Scholar, graduated in May 2000, and is currently a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Communications. She was last year’s overall winner in the Undergraduate Exhibition.

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Contact:  Amy Neil, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or e-mail aen4@psu.edu.