UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement

Truman Scholarships: Nominate Now

Faculty are requested to nominate students for Truman Scholarships. The awards, up to $30,000 for graduate school, provide scholarships to current juniors who plan to pursue a career in public service (academia, government, military, or nonprofit service). The awards are based on merit and are made to students who have a track record of working to impact social change. An understanding of how the student leads others is an important criterion in the evaluation process.

An institutional endorsement is required for students to apply for this award and nominations are due as soon as possible. To submit a nomination or for more information contact the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at scholars@up.edu.

Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research: Apply Now

Since its inauguration in 2015, the Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research has provided support for faculty members from across the University who collaborate with undergraduates on a semester-long research project. The provost’s office is committed to increasing opportunities for student experiential learning, and this initiative represents a key element in achieving that goal.

Faculty members are invited to apply for one of ten Spring 2019 Provost’s Initiative Grants for support to collaborate with an undergraduate on a co-designed research project during the spring semester 2019. Students are expected to meet and work with the faculty member weekly. Students will enroll in a 493 course and will earn a minimum of 1-credit for their work on the project and produce an artifact (research paper, lit review, or presentation etc.) appropriate to the discipline. (Note 1 credit hour typically requires 45 hours of work on the project, which includes faculty meeting time). Faculty members who are new to undergraduate research at University of Portland will receive $1,500 for mentoring the student in research, while experienced faculty members will be compensated $1,000.

Applications are available here and are due November 1, 2018. Email ur@up.edu with questions or call John Orr, assistant provost, at x7857.

National Association of Fellowship Advisors (NAFA) Workshop, July 19-20, 2018

The Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement office is pleased to announce that one of three regional workshops for the National Association of Fellowship Advisors will be held on the University of Portland campus July 19-20, 2018. John Orr and Michele Leasor, along with several other fellowship advisors from Oregon, developed the program for the 1.5 day workshop which focuses on assessment of fellowship advising and features UP’s Michael Johnson, Institutional Research, as a key speaker.

The National Association of Fellowships Advisors (NAFA) mission is to promote the full potential of fellowship candidates through the application process, and to foster the continued growth and professionalization of fellowship advising in higher education. If you have any questions about the Workshop, please contact Michele Leasor at leasor@up.edu.

Summer Undergraduate Research Protocol Reminder

The Provost’s office would like to remind all faculty members conducting collaborative research with undergraduates this summer that the Deans Council approved a uniform, University-wide protocol for all undergraduate research projects. A list of the items required each semester as part of the protocol can always be found in the Undergraduate Research section of the PilotsUP Forms page. The same information is listed below. Any student receiving a stipend or credit for an undergraduate research project at UP is expected to complete the protocol and faculty members are responsible for informing students of this expectation.

  • Learning Agreement This form is completed by both the faculty member and student and needs to be completed only once for each project. The faculty member must complete their portion of this online form first and the student will be sent an email notifying them to complete their portion.
  • Responsible Conduct in Research Training New users will need to create a CITI account and affiliate with University of Portland during the registration process to access the course. After creating an account the user must select the appropriate Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) course from the UP course selection menu. Both faculty members and students must complete CITIs RCR course, if they have not done so at a previous time.
  • Pre-Experience Survey To be completed by the student during the first week of the project. Only one Pre-Experience Survey is needed for the duration of the project, even if it spans multiple semesters.
  • Post-Experience Survey To be completed by the student during the last week of the project each semester.
  • Post-Experience Evaluation To be completed by the faculty member at the conclusion of the project each semester.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact John Orr (orr@up.edu) in the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement.

Summer 2018 Undergrad Research Experience: Apply by Feb. 28

Faculty members are invited to apply on behalf of themselves and an undergraduate student researcher for stipend support for an intensive undergraduate research experience during summer 2018. Students are expected to work full-time (35 hours per week) for 6 weeks on the project or the equivalent of 6 weeks over the course of one or both summer sessions. Faculty members are expected to work with and mentor the students in a co-designed research project.

Students will be paid $2,500 for their work on the project. Faculty will be compensated $1,000 for mentoring the student in research. Up to five projects will be funded.

The application is available in the Undergraduate Research section of the PilotsUP Forms page. For more information and/or to request an application, contact the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at ur@up.edu or x8264. Completed applications are due by February 28 at noon.

Summer Provost’s Initiative for Undergraduate Research: Applications Due Feb. 28

Faculty members are invited to apply on behalf of themselves and an undergraduate student researcher for stipend support for an intensive undergraduate research experience during summer 2018. Students are expected to work full-time (35 hours per week) for 6 weeks on the project or the equivalent of 6 weeks over the course of one or both summer sessions. Faculty members are expected to work with and mentor the students in a co-designed research project.

Students will be paid $2,500 for their work on the project. Faculty will be compensated $1,000 for mentoring the student in research. Up to five projects will be funded.

The application is available in the Undergraduate Research section of the PilotsUP Forms page. For more information and/or to request an application, contact the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at ur@up.edu or x8264. Completed applications are due by February 28 at noon.

Udall Scholarship Nominees Needed

Faculty members are requested to nominate students for the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, available to current sophomore or junior students who meet one or more of these criteria:

  • Students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to the environment;
  • Native American and Alaska Native students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to public policy;
  • Native American and Alaska Native students who have demonstrated commitment to careers related to Native American health care.

Nominations are due by Friday, December 1. To submit a nomination or for more information contact the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at scholars@up.edu.

Scholarly Activity Portal Always Ready For Faculty Input

The Scholarly Activity Portal is always ready for faculty input on PilotsUP under the “Academics” tab. Faculty members are encouraged to update their scholarly activity as it occurs; the portal offers a one-stop opportunity to update recent activity.

Faculty members will download the report for their school and send the PDF copy of the report to their respective deans as a part of the annual self-evaluation, and they can also use the data entered to develop their personal curriculum vitae. The data obtained via the portal are also used to populate A Community of Scholars, published annually by the Provost’s office, and for the Clark Library’s annual celebration of UP authors.

For any questions about uses of the portal, please contact John Orr (orr@up.edu); for questions about how to use the tool, please contact Michele Leasor (leasor@up.edu).

Goldwater Scholarship Nominees Needed

Faculty are requested to nominate students for Goldwater Scholarships. The awards, up to $7,500 per year, provide scholarships to outstanding undergraduate students who plan to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. The awards are based on merit and made to students who will be juniors or seniors during the 2018-2019 academic year. Experience in research is an important criterion in the evaluation process. There will be a pre-application process to determine nominees with a deadline of November 27, 2017.

Nominations are due as soon as possible. To submit a nomination or for more information contact the Office of Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement at scholars@up.edu.

Honors Reading Courses Available to Faculty

Faculty members interested in offering an Honors Program reading course during the 2017-2018 academic year are invited to send a course proposal to program director John Orr by Wednesday, November 15. Honors students, in their junior and senior years, take two one-credit readings courses. Courses are limited to 15 students and are offered pass/no pass. Team-taught courses are particularly welcome. Proposals should include a course title and brief description.

For more information, or to submit a proposal, contact John Orr at orr@up.edu .