In its 10th year, students still choosing UROP

The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program celebrates its 10th year of expanding education using the world of research for first- and second-year students.

Research partnerships between undergraduate students and faculty members in the fields of Bio-medicine, Humanities, Science/Engineering and Social Science permit historically underrepresented minority group and women students to reach into their community or discipline through firsthand experience.

UROP was founded in 1989 to further undergraduate education with research based projects. Partially funded by Coca-Cola Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Baldwin Foundation and Dupont grants, UROP is able to provide services for research projects through the University. This summer, 10 students received fellowships to conduct community-based research for 12 weeks.

LSA senior Tanya Myers said she has worked with the program since her freshman year. Myers added that she has come away with hands on experience in her field of study and a sharpened sense of the direction of her career.

"UROP has been a great program," Myers said. "I recommend it to everybody. There is only so much you can learn in the classroom. Sometimes you have to go out and learn for yourself."

Myers has had the opportunity to work in partnership with Prof. Patrick West in the School of Natural Resources and Environment. They are coordinating a community garden and a farmers' market to provide alternative food sources to the polluted water of the Detroit River, from which residents of the Detroit Rosa Parks district fish for recreation and subsistence. Myers is currently doing research for the development of an aqua culture for the residents.

Through UROP, Christina Brearly works with the Father Patrick Jackson House, whose goal is to help pregnant parenting working women continue their education and learn parenting and individual living skills. Brearly has designed an evaluation tool through community-based research to assess the changing needs of the women at the house.

"I have a sense of accomplishment, and I really feel like what I'm doing is going to make a difference in the lives of the girls," Brearly said, adding that she wants to keep working with issues of women's health.

The number of research partnerships has grown from 14 in 1989 to today including over 800 students and more than 415 faculty researchers today.

Sandra Gregerman, program director of undergraduate education for LSA, said that there was a growing demand for these research partnerships, which benefit retention and academic achievement. Gregerman has been with the program since its inception.

A new program will provide 30-40 mini-grants to professors to promote integration of teaching and research, scholarship and creative activity.

By expanding the program to include more upperclass students in this 10th year, UROP is responding to increased interest in the program, which has drawn national and international attention.

The National Science Foundation awarded UROP its Recognition Award for Integrating Research and Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education funds an evaluation of UROP's effectiveness in improving student retention.

Gregerman said two students travelled to London this summer to present research on black athletes.

In addition to the research component, students present their projects at an end-of-the-term symposium, participate in skills workshops to practice research techniques and attend related lectures.

Students gain compensation through academic study or work-study and leave with hands-on experience, and a UROP alumni survey shows that students make different career choices as a result of their participation in the program.

07-06-98