Eight representatives from Rice University were selected to be part of the 2024-25 Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR) program hosted by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), a nonprofit that provides support and professional development opportunities for faculty, staff, administrators and students.
STR is a competitive application-based professional development opportunity for teams consisting of a campus representative and one to three undergraduate students. These teams will participate in a multimonth program aimed at developing their communication and advocacy skills which will empower them to convey the power of the high-impact practices of undergraduate research, scholarship and creative inquiry experience to diverse stakeholder groups.
“This program is designed to help undergraduate students be able to communicate about the impact that undergraduate research has had on them, but also the impact of their undergraduate research on society and to be able to communicate to a variety of audiences, typically outside of academia,” said Elizabeth Eich, director of undergraduate research and inquiry. “The ultimate activity in this program will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with representatives there as well as representatives from research funding agencies and the media and to equip students to be able to share and advocate for their research.”
Participants include staff representatives Eich and Abigail Schuh, associate director of undergraduate research and inquiry, and students Zoe Griffin, Kevin Hernandez Guadarrama, Bennett Husick, Danika Li, Caleb McKinneyand Ruoqing Wang. The teams selected from a nationwide pool of applicants represent 57 institutions from 22 states and are made up of 65 campus representatives and 146 undergraduate researchers.
Each team will attend online training sessions that help it understand the role of researchers in advocacy and in policy. The training sessions will prepare students to develop relationships with government representatives, to write op-eds and policy briefs, to speak to the media and be able to put those skills into practice when they travel to Washington in March 2025.
The STR program is 3 years old, but this is Rice’s first attempt to submit applications. Both of Rice’s teams of four that applied were selected to participate.
To select the students for the application process, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry screened applicants.
“Students submitted information about their undergraduate research and about the impact that it has had on them, where they would like to take it and why they would like to participate in the program,” Eich said. “From those nominations, we selected students and put together teams, and we selected those teams because we wanted to represent undergraduate research from across the university — from engineering to social sciences to natural sciences and beyond. When we travel to Washington, D.C., we will represent research that’s happening across the entire campus.”
The head of CUR expressed her enthusiasm for this year’s crop of participants.
“This cohort of students and mentors represents the future of research, innovation and advocacy,” said CUR Executive Officer Lindsay Currie. “Their passion for discovery and dedication to expanding access to undergraduate research opportunities is truly inspiring. As we navigate a pivotal time for both higher education and civic engagement, this year’s STR cohort will be equipped to advocate for the transformative power of research at their institutions and on the national stage. We are excited to support them as they grow into leaders who will make a lasting impact in their fields and communities.”
Rice’s high undergraduate research participation rate, which hovers around 70%, demonstrates the university’s commitment to both academics and research.
Eich said the work performed by the teams will enhance Rice’s future research enterprise.
“The group of students that we’ve selected are not only really great models of successful undergraduate research here at Rice, they are also respected within their own research endeavors,” Eich said. “They are taking on this additional role to make sure that research is more accessible to our policymakers, and then when they come back, make research accessible to other students.”
For more information about the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry, visit its website.