Virginia
Military Institute and Washington and
Lee University have been selected to
host the 2005 National Conference on
Undergraduate Research - the only meeting
for students from hundreds of colleges
nationwide to present their research
across the broad liberal arts from
politics to physics, literature to
fine arts.
NCUR's
announcement that VMI and W&L won
the competition for the March 17-19,
2005 conference brings to fruition
nearly two years of work by the schools
to forge a public-private partnership
to secure a major academic conference
for Virginia.
The
VMI-W&L partnership is a model
for other public and private colleges
to work together in furthering opportunities
for students and faculty. NCUR cited
the VMI-W&L partnership in selecting
Lexington - the smallest community
ever chosen by NCUR from its usual
choice of major cities as conference
sites - to host the three-day event,
which draws about 2,500 students and
academics from across the country each
year.
"This
is a splendid opportunity for VMI and
W&L to further our common conviction
that creative student work, by students
in all disciplines, is an integral
part of the best possible undergraduate
education," said W&L's Acting
Dean of the College Thomas Williams,
a senior physics professor.
Added
VMI Dean, Brigadier General Charles
Brower, "This particular venture
makes eminent sense. Our joint facilities
are superb and commodious and our joint
commitment to this endeavor is unflagging,
as is our belief that the Lexington
conference in 2005 will set a new standard
of excellence for NCUR in the future."
While
neighbors for almost two centuries,
collaborations between the two schools
primarily have been informal ones among
faculty members, though more formalized
and comprehensive efforts have long
been desired by both VMI and W&L.
"This
is a watershed event in the history
of VMI and W&L," Williams
said of the partnership between the
two institutions separated only by
their distinctive architecture.
The
2005 conference, "Inquiry, Discovery,
Creativity and Scholarship: A Celebration
of Undergraduate Research," will
draw on the success of both VMI and
W&L in promoting and funding advanced
scholarly work by students in mentorship
with professors. These experiences
are especially valuable since both
institutions focus on undergraduate
education.
As
the nation's ninth-oldest college,
Washington and Lee University has long
promoted undergraduate research through
a variety of means, including its senior
thesis and summer student grants programs,
which provide over 50 W&L undergraduates
each summer with stipends to collaborate
with faculty in research.
Outstanding
student research at W&L includes
recent graduate Karly Shallow's analysis
of the cultural and demographic effects
on status consumer consumption. Through
her work with Professor Robert Straughan,
Shallow was invited to present her
marketing research findings in June
at an international conference of higher
education and business leaders in Spain.
Virginia
Military Institute, which enrolls about
1,300 cadets, recently formalized its
tradition of emphasizing faculty mentorship
with cadets in research through the
Institute-wide Undergraduate Research
Initiative to integrate cadet scholarly
inquiry across the curriculum and throughout
cadets' four years at the public institution.
Funded
last spring, the VMI initiative has
made a significant impact on the school
by underwriting its first research
symposium, its summer research institute
and 16 new research fellowships, now
numbering almost 50 at VMI. The initiative
also sponsored a summer exchange program
in Havana, where VMI international
studies major Dennis Lawrence examined
the effects of the U.S. trade embargo
on Cubans' daily lives.
VMI's
student research initiative also ensured
funds for engineering major Matthew
Sharpe to participate with top students
nationally whose research was showcased
at a national conference. VMI has committed
$1.5 million in private funds to further
these efforts over the next six years.
To
win the 2005 NCUR conference - the
first to be held in Virginia - VMI
and W&L launched a joint committee
of faculty and administrators chaired
by Colonel James E. Turner, director
of VMI's research initiative and a
professor of chemistry and biology.
By
combining resources, VMI and W&L
offered numerous classrooms, lecture
halls and public facilities needed
to host about 2,000 presentations,
talks and large poster sessions that
will be featured at the March 2005
event.
VMI
and W&L students will help plan
the conference, serve as host guides,
assist guest speakers and participate
in research presentations - including
their own. A web site for NCUR 2005
also will be developed by a team of
VMI and W&L students.
Together,
the two institutions will coordinate
meals for several thousand conference
participants, as well as provide musical
entertainment and tours of the area
in the Great Valley of Virginia between
the Blue Ridge and Alleghany mountains.
Lexington's guest housing and 20 area
hotels, with two more to be completed
before 2005, also are fully adequate
to handle the conference.
The
two schools are working closely with
the City of Lexington, the Chamber
of Commerce and the Rockbridge Area
Tourism office to coordinate lodging,
travel and other conference efforts.
The
2003 NCUR conference will be held March
13-15, 2003 at the University of Utah
in Salt Lake City. The 2004 conference
is in Indianapolis.
Increased
emphasis on undergraduate research
began about 20 years ago, primarily
among the best of the country's small
colleges. The National Conference on
Undergraduate Research was launched
in 1986 as this trend spread among
colleges and universities of all sizes.
By hosting NCUR 2005, VMI and W&L
will represent the historical and continuing
strength of research in small undergraduate
colleges.
More
information on NCUR and the 2003 conference
is available at: www.ncur.org.
W&L
is ranked the nation's 15th best liberal
arts college and its School of Law
the 18th best in the country, according
to U.S. News and World Report. VMI,
ranked in the second tier of the four-tier
rankings, is one of a minority of public
institutions to make the U.S. News
best liberal arts list and is ranked
the top public institution for the
second year.
