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 2008 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 2007 from The Palm Beach Community Trust and by an endowment providing on-going funding which the Frueauff Foundation established.

Announcement - Summer 2008:

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 2008 semester and not be graduating until after the fall term of 2008. The program provides a $2000 stipend for research done over the eight week summer session starting May 13, 2008, and ending July 3, 2008. 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/programs/usapd, 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 2008-2009 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.

2007 SURE Scholars:

Palm Beach Community Trust Scholars:

• Jessica Auer - "Gender and Transitional Authority: Women in Senior Administrative Positions in the Russian Bureaucracy"
• R. Clint Bentley - "Boulders Fall to Each: A Study of the Border Conflict Between the United States of America and Mexico"
• Monica Brewer - "The Saint Anthony Panels of the Isenheim Altarpiece: A Tour de Force in Comic Relief"
• William Collum - "Mouthpiece for the Constituency: Testing the Assertion fo a 'Rubber-Stamp' 109th Congress"
• Megan England - "The Online Graphical Community as a Potential Interface for Interactive Music Performance"
• Michael Hodges - "Anne Bradstreet and Pre-Transcendentalism"
• Ryan Lynch - "September 11th: Myth Reality, and the Unknown"
• Shauna Maragh - "Impact of Western Portrayal of Japanese Geishas in Arthur Golden's Historical Novel, Memoirs of a Geisha"
• Rebekah Schlottman - "Shakespeare's Depiction of Moral and Political Power in his Second Tetralogy"
• Mindi Seeman - "Understanding the Burial Practices of the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age on the Greek Mainland"

Frueauff Science Scholars:

• Jackie Booth - "Geneflow and dispersal of Hesperoperla pacifica among mountain ranges of the Great Basin, Nevada, USA"
• Audra Leedy - "Gender variation in an andromonecious plant, passiforla incarnata"
• Ashley Morris - "Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Hydrogel Co-Polymers with Potential Applications as Drug Release Vehicles"
• Sam Romano - "A Quantative Study of Web Cache Replacement Strategies"

Stetson Scholars:

• Heather Martyn - "'Not in Our Town:' Public Controversies Over the Presence of Wal-Mart in Florida Communities"
• Kevin Ward - "Bringing the Ideas and Compositions of the Northern Renaissance Altarpiece Into the Age of Digital Contemporary Art"

Click here to see previous SURE Scholars, going back to the inception of the program.

Application procedure:

A completed application consists of:

1. A complete application cover sheet (see attached)
2. 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.
3. An official copy of the student’s Stetson academic transcript (available from the registrar).
4. 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 8335.
5. 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 8335.

The completed applications should be sent via campus mail to Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Unit 8335, 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 Monday, March 10, 2008 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 Friday, March 21, 2008.

To download a SURE grant application (pdf format), click here. To download a SURE grant application (Word format), click here.   To download a SURE grant application (Mac RTF), click here.    * Paper copies of the SURE Grant application can also be obtained in the History Department Office, Elizabeth Hall 312 * For more information, contact:  Dr. Kimberly Reiter, Chair, Undergraduate Research Committee Phone:  822-7511  ~  Office: 305 Elizabeth Hall  ~  E-mail: kreiter@stetson.edu

 

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