PDA Event: CARLI Undergraduate Research Webinar Series - Day 3

10:00 a.m. CST: Inclusion and Equity through Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) / presented by Gina Hunter, Illinois State University

11:00 a.m. CST: JEDI Inspirations for Undergraduate Research:  Leveraging Library Connections to Diversify Student Research and Researchers / presented by Roxane Pickens, University of Miami Libraries

Register for Undergraduate Research Series - Day 3.  

Learn about additional webinars in the Undergraduate Research Series.

Inclusion and Equity through Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) 

Undergraduate research experiences are associated with a number of positive academic, professional, and personal development outcomes. The impact of undergraduate research experiences, however, is limited because they usually involve relatively few students in one-on-one independent study or internship experiences. Students from under-represented or under-served backgrounds are often the least likely to get access to intensive research experiences. Furthermore, most students get access to these research experiences only late in their undergraduate careers which is often too late to allow them to make an informed decision about their educational or career trajectory. Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have emerged as a way to make authentic research experiences accessible to larger numbers of students. CUREs have been defined as “learning experiences in which whole classes of students address a research question or problem with unknown outcomes or solutions that are of interest to external stakeholders” (Dolan n.d., 3). While the term CURE is most often associated with STEM fields, similar efforts are found in in a variety of disciplines across the curriculum.

In this presentation I offer a brief overview of CUREs and provide examples from sciences, social sciences, and humanities. I examine the value of CUREs for increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in undergraduate research programs, and suggest resources for further learning.

Gina Louise Hunter is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the Office of Student Research (OSR) at Illinois State University. As a cultural anthropologist and ethnographer, she works with graduate and undergraduate students on ethnographic research projects of academic libraries and the university. As Director of OSR, Gina administers summer and academic year research grant programs, coordinates the Image of Research Competition, and facilitates professional development activities for faculty on research mentorship, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), and inclusive pedagogy for student research. 

JEDI Inspirations for Undergraduate Research:  Leveraging Library Connections to Diversify Student Research and Researchers 

This presentation addresses ways that college and university libraries can inspire a more diversified portfolio of undergraduate student research and researchers by critically and creatively engaging justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) principles, especially by leveraging strategic collaborations with library and other academic partners to pique student interest and support their processes of exploration and analysis.  Key points of discussion will include how to support student research on topics that advance knowledge and understanding from antiracist, feminist, and decolonial contexts, as well as topics that consider popular and contemporary cultural expressions.  Additionally, strategies for engaging student populations that may not consider themselves researcher material, or that on paper might not be seen as such, will be presented.  Based on work that we do at University of Miami Libraries through our Learning Commons and in collaboration with partners like the Center for the Humanities, Office of Learning Innovation and Faculty Engagement, and American Studies Program, this presentation will be a case study and exchange of ideas for promoting undergraduate research that is grounded in interdisciplinary practices, demystified enough to appeal to a wider range of potential students, and addresses information literacies from a more just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive framework. 

Roxane Pickens is a Librarian Assistant Professor and director of the University of Miami Libraries Learning Commons, a library and campus-wide collaboration for academic support services and resources serving students, faculty, and staff.  She is also the director of the American Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at UM. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies at the College of William and Mary, and her scholarly work explores identity and festivity in Harlem Renaissance/Jazz Age literature and expressive culture. Her current research and teaching interests include interdisciplinarity and cultural literacies in library settings, teaching with primary resources, diversity/equity/ inclusion in academic spaces, American Studies, African American literature/culture, U.S. identity construction, and the rhetorical dimensions of ethnic festive/expressive culture.