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Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience
SURE
One of the ways Stetson University fosters excellence in undergraduate programs is through the SURE program, or Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience. Each year undergraduate scholars are selected in a University-wide competition for grants to work with a faculty mentor on a summer research project. This page describes the Summer 2009 initiative and lists winners from the previous years.
This program was supported as a pilot project during its first two years with Hollis Renaissance funds and is now supported directly by Stetson University. Stetson University gratefully acknowledges financial support of the program by a grant for summers from 2000 through 2008 from The Palm Beach Community Trust and by an endowment providing on-going funding which the Frueauff Foundation established.
Announcement - Summer 2009:
Stetson University is pleased to announce the availability of up to twelve undergraduate research internship positions for the summer of 2008. Applicants must select a faculty member to serve as a research mentor to help supervise the proposed research project. The summer research internship positions will be selected on a competitive basis. Students in the College of Arts & Sciences, the Business School, and the School of Music are invited to apply, but eligible students must have at least sophomore standing as of the spring 2009 semester and not be graduating until after the fall term of 2009. The program provides a $2000 stipend for research done over the eight week summer session starting May 11, 2009, and ending July 1, 2009. Students may also apply for up to $500 for research-related expenses (for example, travel to the Folger Shakespeare Library) and for up to $500 for travel to an appropriate professional meeting to present research results. Students may also apply for free, optional summer housing on campus.
Program Expectations:
1. Each student will work closely with a faculty mentor on a research project on a full- time basis. This precludes taking courses in the summer session. The SURE internship does not carry academic credit, and as such cannot solely be used to fulfill the senior research requirement in the College of Arts & Sciences. However, additional research, which builds and extends on work done during the SURE internship, is permissible as the senior research topic.
2. Each student is required to prepare a poster summarizing their research for display in their home departments.
3. Each student is expected to present the results of their research locally by delivering a 50 minute lecture to an appropriate class in their discipline, such as in a research seminar course. Each student is also expected to present the results of their research locally at the Stetson University Research and Creative Arts Symposium (formerly known as Undergraduate Scholarship Day or USD) during the April following the summer of their grant. Applications for this event are made available during March preceding the event and can be found at the Symposium web site, http://www.stetson.edu/other/research/surcas.php, or from the Undergraduate Research Committee. Finally, each student is also expected to present the results of their research (either by delivering an oral presentation or participating in a poster session) at an appropriate regional or national meeting of their discipline during the 2009-2010 academic year. The $500 travel allowance is to be used for this purpose.
4. Each student is required to write and submit an essay to evaluate their own personal summer research experience, including suggestions on program improvement. The Chair of the Undergraduate Research Committee will provide a set of guidelines for the essay to award recipients.
2009 SURE Scholars:
SURE Grant Recipients:
Tyce Herman: The Role of Isolated HSP 70 in Protein Disaggregation
Ashli Simone: Investigating the Binding of Ethylene to Copper Centers of Ethylene Receptor Proteins
Ryan Napier: Strawberry Fields Forever: Plant City Stories
Sarah Witosky: The Effects of Personality Characteristics on Decision Time and Confidence During a Discrimination Task
Laura Loveday: The Rhetoric of the Beecher Family as Exigence Towards the Women'sSuffrage Movement in the 19th Century
Mark Lowry: A Study of Language in Russian Preschoolers in Order to Evaluate the Acquisition of Grammar
Michael Quackenbush: Anuran Distress calls: Testing the Predator Attraction Hypothesis
Rebecca Levine: Understanding the Beneficial Aspects of Dietary Curcumin in Reducing the Incidence and Severity of Alzheimer's Disease
Jason Rickner: "Our Russia": Tracking the Evolution of Political Attitudes Among Russian Youth
Jessica Pauszek: Women's Rhetoric in Political Speece: The First ladies of America Speak Out
Marina Buryak: In Search of a Greater Understanding of Atomic Theory and Molecular Orbits
Katherine Smith: Nursing Home Administrative Techniques in the Context of National Health Systems
Sarah Holland: Chasing Perfection: American Ideals of Beauty as Communicated in Young Women's Magazines
2008 SURE Scholars:
SURE Grant Recipients:
Isa Adney, “Wearing the Scarlet Letter on the Red Carpet: The Influence of Media Portrayals of Celebrity Women on American Standards for Womanhood”
Peter Dzuba, “Using Data Mining and Machine Learning Algorithms to Locate Arbitrage Opportunities in Security Markets”
Sarah Edwards, “The Millennial Generation: Emerging Trends in Student Civic Engagement and the Effects on Consumer Trends”
Jana Fisher, “Music as an Enhancement for Film”
Jacqueline Matias, “Factors Influencing the Artistic Portrayal of the Nude: The Correlation Between Political Identification, Sexual Identification, Ethnicity, Religiosity, and the Appreciation of Art”
Ryan Napier, “The Counterforce: Pynchon and Gravity’s Rainbow as Outsider”
Brittany Pugh, “Pulse of a Village: The Social and Economic effects of Malaria on the Manic Village, Tanzania”
Rachel Pusateri, “Considering Contemporary Art from Africa in the United States: A Critical look at U.S. Media Coverage of Exhibitions of Contemporary Art from Africa”
Michael Simpson, “On Mathematical Explanation: Mathematics and the Theory of Why-Questions”
Carolyn Themel, “The Oakdale Cemetery Project”
Henry Toland, “Illustrating the History of My Grandfather and Those Like Him: An Oral History of a Russian Soldier in World War Two”
Megan Woodall, “Africana Music in Tanzania: Its Influence on Black Music in the Community”
Jessica Tokarz, “Use of Mitochondrial DNA to Estimate Divergence Times for Populations of the Springsnail Floridobia floridana from Central Florida”
Ishabel Vicaria, “Hemispheric Differences in Identifying Emotionally Expressive Body Movement”
Click here to see previous SURE Scholars, going back to the inception of the program.
Application procedure:
A completed application consists of:
- A complete application cover sheet (see attached)
- A narrative description (not to exceed 1,500 words) of the goals and methodology of the proposed research project, including appropriate references, and written in accordance with the canons of the student's academic discipline. The narrative must minimally address: the purpose of the proposed research, the methods and procedures for achievement of the objectives, and the form and dissemination of the research results. For those requesting research-related funds, an additional budget sheet should specifically outline both the amounts and purpose of those funds (e.g. travel, equipment, photocopying), up to and not to exceed $500.
- An official copy of the student's Stetson academic transcript (available from the registrar).
- A letter of recommendation from the student's proposed faculty mentor, sent by the faculty member in a signed, sealed envelope to Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Unit 8344.
- One additional letter of recommendation from someone familiar with the student's academic achievements and/or research experience and potential, also sent in a sealed envelope to Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Unit 8344.
The completed applications should be sent via campus mail to Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Unit 8344, or they can be dropped off for Dr. Reiter in the History Department office, Elizabeth Hall room 312. The complete application package must be received by Dr. Reiter by Thursday, March 11, 2010 to be considered. The applications will be reviewed by a panel of Stetson University faculty members, and successful applicants will be notified no later than Monday, April 2, 2010.
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To download a SURE grant application (pdf format), click here.
* Paper copies of the SURE Grant application can also be obtained in the History Department Office, Elizabeth Hall 312 *
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