Prospective students are given numerous reasons why Wabash College may be good for them. A selling point for some students is the assurance they will be able to pursue academic and creative exploration that parallels or exceeds topics covered in class. Wabash’s program of Student Grants for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work backs up that assurance.
The Research Grants are available to students who want to learn more about a particular subject or display or apply what they have learned in a creative way. According to Dean Gary Phillips, the program funds are available through the Undergraduate Research Celebration Committee, which is funded this year from the Center of Inquiry grant received from the Lilly Endowment.
The funds are available to student projects that have at least one faculty sponsor or collaborator. With the exception of internships, most allocations do not exceed $1,500, and the faculty advisor supervises the use of funds. The awards can be used as travel money to attend conferences, to purchase equipment and supplies needed to execute the project, and for other reasons that bear a rational relationship to the research or creative work being done.
Students can apply for the grants by submitting to Committee Co-Chairs Todd McDorman and Jim Brown a one-to-two page proposal that outlines the nature, goals, and timeline of their project, along with a letter of support from the faculty sponsor(s) that highlight the value of the project and their willingness to be a part of it. At the end of the semester, the faculty member and student are required to submit a report to the Committee, marking the progress of their work. Additionally, students must give presentations of their projects to the campus during the Annual Celebration of Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work.
"Wabash College has long supported research and scholarly endeavors of her students, and this support has taken many forms," said McDorman, Associate Professor of Rhetoric. "However, since the 2000-01 academic year, the College has worked to more formally provide support for a range of student efforts. This support has fostered creative endeavors by our students and has assisted them in their development as student scholars."
A previous program, Grants for Student/Faculty Collaborative Scholarship, operated for five years until the fund went dry in 2005. Even so, it assisted approximately 300 Wallies who participated in the Research Celebration and supported 20 other student projects.
"Fortunately, with the renewal of the Lilly Grant that supports the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, a group of faculty made a new proposal for the re-initiation of formal support for student work," said McDorman. "Out of this, the program of Student Grants for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work was created. This particular version of the program has been in operation since January 2007, although again it is important to recognize that this is really the continuation of Wabash’s commitment to undergraduate scholarship. It is important to note that each of these projects was sponsored by a faculty member and each project reflects a level of engaging student-faculty collaboration in the pursuit of liberal arts learning."
According to McDorman, the Undergraduate Research Celebration Committee has supported six projects this year: a presentation by Tony Caldwell ‘07, sponsored by Professor Ann Taylor, at the ASBMB Experimental Biology Conference in Washington, DC; summer research internships for Justin Gardiner ‘08, sponsored by Professor Rick Warner and Archivist Beth Swift, and Haris Amin ‘08, sponsored by Professors Jim Brown and Chad Westphal; a conference poster presentation by Barron Hewetson ‘08, sponsored by Professor Neil Schmitzer-Torbert, at a Psychology conference scheduled for this November; and travel by four students, sponsored by Professor Gilberto Gomez, to next month’s Chicago Humanities Festival, which will address Global Climate Change.
Students and committee members agree that the Student Grants for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work program is an invaluable resource.
"This is something that most colleges won’t have, and it’s something I’d like to see more students take advantage of," said Physics Professor and Committee Co-Chair Jim Brown. "To be able to just right a letter, explain what you want to do, have a proposal, be under obligation to present that at the celebration, and get a couple thousand dollars to do research is something most college won’t have."
"There are lots of opportunities [for students]," said Chad Westphal Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Sciences. "We would be excited to get more proposals. The limiting factor right now is not money. It’s the number of proposals that we’re getting. We’re excited about the ones that we do get, and we hope to get more this year."
"Grants and Funds like the one I was able to take advantage of this summer are a big part of what makes Wabash what it is," said Justin Gardiner, who researched the papers of Richard Yates, a Civil War governor of Illinois, a Senator, and colleague of President Abraham Lincoln. "It is an example of what makes a small liberal arts school like Wabash unique in that undergraduates have access to opportunities like the one I had in many different fields. The Krache Summer Internship Fund is going to help me in my future career for years and years, just like many of the similar grants and funds do for those that pursue them."
Full details of the program can be found online. Completed proposals can be submitted to Professor Todd McDorman at mcdormat@wabash.edu.
Gary James is a sophomore writer for the Bachelor staff.