BOWLING GREEN, O.—Both the name and the reach of Bowling Green State University’s undergraduate research program have been extended.

What began in 2004 as the Office of Undergraduate Research was, this year, renamed the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship. The “scholarship” was added “to broaden the definition of what we would fund as research and scholarship,” explained the center’s director, Dr. Paul Moore, a professor of biological sciences and also director of the BGSU Honors Program.

People tend to think of the natural sciences when they hear “research,” but “a tremendous amount of good work” is also done in other fields—the arts, humanities and business, for instance—that the center would like to support as well, he said.

At the same time, the center is coordinating with other campus programs that support undergraduate student engagement, including Academic Investment in Math and Science (AIMS), Student Achievement in Research and Scholarship (STARS) and the McNair Scholars Program. While each initiative has a different emphasis, “the underlying purpose of all of these is to engage students,” said Moore.

Not knowing how to become involved is the biggest factor limiting undergraduate research, he said. Some students also think they can’t do it until they’re seniors; the center advises them to invest in a relationship with faculty early on and connect with those they know about research projects. “Where to Begin” and “Selecting a Faculty Mentor” lead the list of “Resources for Students” on the center’s Web site.   
 
The center’s services for students also include increased instruction in writing research grant proposals, along with funding and help with communicating their research results.

The academic-year funding program is Awards in Support of Undergraduate Research, 15 of which are available both for fall and spring semester. Grants of up to $500 are offered for supplies associated with a student’s research or creative activities, and are funded by Provost Shirley Baugher’s office. “She wants students engaged in the scholarship of their discipline,” Moore said.

Summer grants are as much as $500 as well, coupled with a $2,500 stipend for undergraduates who commit to an intensive, 10-week project supervised by faculty mentors. Faculty are eligible for up to $400 for supplies in the summer program.

The third element of the center’s funding program is grants of up to $200 for travel to professional conferences to present research findings.

Next month, the center will hold its Symposium on Undergraduate Research in conjunction with the seventh annual BGSU Research Conference, hosted by the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (SPAR). Events are set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Eighteen BGSU students who received research funding last summer are scheduled to make presentations.

“We need to combine efforts,” Moore said, pointing out that undergraduates who present their findings in such a setting can get feedback from faculty and graduate students and feel more a part of the academic community.

Another collaborative event, planned again for April 2009 in Columbus, is Poster Day at the Capitol. At the inaugural day last April, about 30 students from BGSU and the universities of Toledo and Findlay presented projects to Ohio officials at the Statehouse.

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