On behalf of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Transformations Project, consultant Bridget Gourley recently spent two days with St. Mary’s College chemistry and biochemistry faculty, and consultant David Strohmetz spent two days with psychology faculty.
This was the initial visit of the CUR team, with the goals to introduce the external consultants to the St. Mary’s College faculty groups, and to develop action plans for the first year of this four-year project.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland is one of only 12 institutions selected by CUR for its Transformations Project, funded by the National Science Foundation. The Transformations Project will revise traditional four-year undergraduate curricula in biology, chemistry, physics and psychology by focusing on high-quality undergraduate research throughout the four years of a student’s major. Participants from institutions around the country will directly engage in novel research to study the student, faculty, departmental, and disciplinary influences on the process of integrating and scaffolding undergraduate research experiences throughout the curriculum in two of the four possible disciplines.
A team of 16 faculty and staff members at St. Mary’s College are participating, including principal investigator and co-lead Sabine Dillingham, director of the office of research & sponsored programs, and co-lead Christine Wooley, interim associate dean of curriculum. Pam Mertz and Kelly Neiles are leading the chemistry and biochemistry team, while Aileen Bailey leads the psychology team.