Dr. Roger Epp Award for Team-Based Undergraduate Research

Objectives

  1. To support "high-impact educational practice" in experiential and interdisciplinary learning and thereby enhance the Augustana student experience.
  2. To create a high-profile opportunity to showcase Augustana's commitment to undergraduate research.
  3. To support the advantages in a liberal arts education building leadership, self-knowledge and citizenship skills.
  4. To connect learning to the community in meaningful, mutually beneficial ways.

Purpose

This endowment will support an annual team-based undergraduate research project experience at the Augustana Campus, normally for students in their final year. It is also meant to build on Augustana's commitments to discovery, experiential, team-based and integrative learning, interdisciplinarity, community engagement and, above all, a superior undergraduate education.

Implementation

While the form of the experience should be expected to change over time, the following is envisioned initially:

  1. The project award will be made available, by application, either to a single interdisciplinary team of students - normally between three and six - or to a capstone course in one or more disciplines.
  2. Unless the project is linked directly to a capstone course, the participating students will be registered in and, on completion, receive as many as six credits at the 400- or 300-level, using whatever course numbers - in IDS, CSL or discipline(s) - are appropriate. The project should be the equivalent of three to six credits' work per student.
  3. Applications will be adjudicated on the basis of research design, relevance, community engagement and interdisciplinarity. It is important that the award be accessible to students in the performing and visual arts as well as other disciplines.
  4. Applications will include a proposed budget. Endowment funds may be used for such research purposes as travel and related expenses, equipment and materials, conference presentations and publication of results. Depending on available earnings, more than one project may be supported in any particular year, and a secondary portion of funds may also be used to offset tuition for courses directly related to the project.
  5. Applications should address community engagement and benefit, though there are no geographical restrictions around this award. The project could be undertaken by students as part of an international semester, for example, or as an extension of other off-campus fieldwork or service-learning.
  6. The Dean shall appoint an adjudication committee, the composition of which may change over time, to develop additional criteria, review applications and determine recipients. The Committee on the Learning Environment may serve as the adjudication committee.
  7. Applications should be submitted by the last day of February prior to the academic year in which the project will be undertaken. The award will be determined by April 15.

Administration of the award

  1. The spending portion of this endowment will be administered in accordance with university policy.
  2. Where appropriate, the funding support from this endowment will be acknowledged on communication materials.

For more information, contact the Assoc. Dean (Teaching) - jcw3@ualberta.ca

Award Winners

2018

Nicholas Beggs and Ryan Geller
"Indian Education: Past and Present" COPLAC Field School, University of Minnesota at Morris
Supervisor: Janet Wesselius

2015

Hope Menary-Dianocky, Tonya Simpson, Jennifer Stonechild
"Connecting Archaeology and Native America" COPLAC Field School, Eastern Connecticut University
Supervisor: Roxanne Harde