I. Undergraduate Research Mentorship Awards
Eligibility: Any member of the OSU Lima Faculty Assembly is eligible to receive this award. Article 1 of Constitution of the Lima Campus Faculty Assembly defines the terms of membership in the Assembly.
Application and Proposal: Faculty may propose to mentor one or more undergraduate students in a research project - broadly defined - potentially spanning several quarters. Mentors may work with an individual student or with a small group of students (i.e., a research cluster). Normally, students are expected to earn independent study coursework for the duration of the project, as credit earned would be one measure of the scope and duration of the experience. Reasons for why a student was not enrolled in independent study, if applicable, should be explained to the committee (e.g., project included summer term when the student was not enrolled). The application and proposal should be submitted to the URMC by the deadline stated on the committee’s webpage. 2010 deadline for applications is April 24, 2010.
Reward System for Faculty and Students: Faculty will be rewarded with $1500 per qualifying research project. This award will be in the form of a line of credit that can be used for professional development (e.g., travel expenses, books, research or teaching materials or supplies). Students may earn up to $500 to cover the cost of research related expenses (e.g., poster, printing, travel expenses). Documentation of student expenses will be required.
Review: The URMC will review each application and recommend to the administration whether or not the project should be rewarded. Up to a total of 12 Undergraduate Research Mentorship Awards will be granted annually. If more than 12 acceptable applications are submitted in a given year, the URMC will prioritize the list based on the scholarly merits of the proposal. The final decision regarding awards will be made by the administration.
The URMC faces a difficult task in evaluating project proposals from different areas and disciplines. Applicants are encouraged to include information in their application about any unique features of the project or particular obstacles within an area of study that would help inform the committee about the merits of the project.
Over time, the URMC will develop guidelines and expected standards pertaining to proposed projects. As these guidelines are developed, they will be shared with faculty and added to the URMC webpage. The review committee recognizes that some student projects may not be suitable to the Denman Research Forum.
Student Presentations/Student Voting: Mentored students will prepare and present poster sessions of their experiences to other students on campus. These student presentations will be judged by other students and first, second, and third place will earn bookstore gift certificates in the amount of $300, $200, and $100, respectively. The voting ballots should contain information (e.g., criteria guidelines) to aid students in judging the projects. In addition, all undergraduate research mentees will be invited to attend the Denman Forum in Columbus.
URMC Members: Three faculty members, elected through faculty assembly elections, shall serve on the URMC. Each person should represent a different college within the university. Members will serve a 2-year term. Members can be re-elected for multiple terms. The chair of the committee should not serve as chair for longer than 2 consecutive terms (i.e., 4 consecutive years).
II. OSU Lima Faculty Award for Student Mentorship
Faculty Award: The URMC will select a faculty member to receive the OSU Lima Faculty Award for Student Mentorship. This award will be given on an annual basis. Similar to other awards on our campus (e.g., Teaching and Scholarship awards), this award will include a $500 honorarium and $1,000 available for the winner’s research expenses. This award will be announced (and presented with a plaque) at the annual Spring Quarter Awards Ceremony.
Nomination and Selection Process: Nominations for the OSU Lima Faculty Award for Student Mentorship will be reviewed by the URMC. The committee will consider both the quantity and quality of student-mentored projects. Nomination forms are available on the URMC webpage. Self-nominations are acceptable. Individuals who have previously won the award must sit out a period of five years before being considered again, unless there is no other qualified candidate.
URMC Voting: If a committee member is being considered for the Faculty Award for Student Mentorship (or if they apply for a research mentorship award), they will recuse themselves from deliberation and voting on the respective award. A faculty member will be selected by the remaining members of the committee to replace the recused individual.
Timeline of Award: Nominations should be turned into the chair of the URMC by the deadline noted on the webpage (typically by the 4th week of spring quarter). The chair of the URMC will inform the Dean of the winner of the award at least three weeks prior to the convocation. The identity of the winner should remain confidential until the award is announced at the convocation.
The deadline for applications for the 2010 OSU Lima Faculty Award for Student Mentorship is April 29, 2010.
III. Undergraduate Research Mentorship Committee Members for 2009-2010
Undergraduate Research and Mentorship Awards Application / Proposal (pdf)
