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Oct. 29, 2015 – Allegheny College has been recognized by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) with an inaugural Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishment (AURA), CUR announced today.

The award recognizes Allegheny for its exemplary programs providing high-quality research experiences to undergraduates. AURA recognition requires campuses to have depth and breadth in their undergraduate research initiatives, as well as evidence of sustained innovation.

Allegheny College will be honored on January 22, 2016 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C.

In announcing the award, CUR noted Allegheny College’s well-designed and developmentally appropriate undergraduate research experience. That experience is supported by deliberate scaffolding, which begins during a student’s first year, continues throughout the sophomore and junior years and culminates in a required capstone research project. CUR also noted that Allegheny’s faculty are actively engaged in publishing undergraduate research and that the college’s promotion and tenure process supports faculty’s work with undergraduate research.

Allegheny’s holistic and sustained student development approach, CUR said in announcing the award, prepares Allegheny students for both graduate study and post-baccalaureate employment.

“It is a great honor to have been selected by the Council on Undergraduate Research, one of the leading organizations in higher education, to receive an inaugural 2015 Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishment,” said James H. Mullen Jr., president of Allegheny College. “The award is a valued acknowledgment of the robust programs for undergraduate research that our faculty have built with such care and that our students embrace with such enthusiasm.”

Three awards were made this year to recognize outstanding institutions from different classification groups. CUR’s Executive Officer Elizabeth Ambos and President Roger Rowlett joined together to say, “Excellence in undergraduate research programming is found in all types of institutions, and CUR is proud to honor these national leaders who have thoroughly connected research to the undergraduate education process.”

Awards were also made to George Mason University and the College of New Jersey.

The full text of CUR’s announcement can be found here.

The Council on Undergraduate Research supports faculty and student development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research, scholarship and creative activities. More than 700 institutions and over 10,000 individuals belong to CUR.