OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH MENTORS
The Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award is awarded to an individual faculty researcher or faculty research team that demonstrates excellence in mentoring undergraduate students in a research setting.
Dr. Steven Driese
Department of Geosciences
College of Arts and Sciences
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to Dr. Driese's willingness, while serving as a department chair and engaged in major improvements in graduate education in the department of Geology, to simultaneously organize a research based capstone course for undergraduates and to act as a dedicated mentor to individual students.
Dr. Frieda Blackwell
Spanish, Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
College of Arts and Sciences
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to her willingness, while serving as a dean, to take time to personally mentor multiple undergraduate research papers, her encouragement of other faculty in humanities and languages in their service as mentors, and her role in organizing multiple sessions for Scholars Week. Largely due to Dr. Blackwell's initiative, Modern Foreign Languages has taken the lead in the number and quality of platform presentations during Scholars Week.
EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP
The The purpose of this award is to recognize individuals, programs, or organizations that best demonstrate leadership, imagination, and persistence in developing research opportunities for undergraduate students.
BURST Officers and Founding Team
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to their establishment of a viable leadership cadre, initiation of seminars and events for undergraduates, initiation of a new journal, and outreach to multiple departments and campus offices as exemplary.
Introductory Lab Teaching Team from the Dept. of Biology; members Tamarah Adair, Dr. Marty Harvill, and Diane Hartman with Dr. Robert Doyle as Chair
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to their imagination in course design, effective use of on and off-campus resources, large numbers of students served, concern for freshmen, and time commitment as exemplary. The faculty organizers , Dr. Marty Harvill, Dr. Tamara Adair, and Diane Hartman, are to be commended for their dedication to Baylor’s undergraduate scholars and the success of the courses in building a foundation for future independent research engagement.
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
This award in given in recognition of exceptional service by faculty, students, or staff in building support for undergraduate research activities. Examples include, but are not limited to , a significant role in obtaining funding to support research endeavors, providing the means to present scholarly work via conferences or publication, encouraging diversity, building curriculum, and other areas of programmatic support.
Dr. Susan Colon
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to Dr. Colon’s key role in establishing the undergraduate research journal The Pulse, and her exemplary care for the students serving as editors and submitting papers, even in the midst of personal challenges. The Pulse has provided valuable writing publication experience and improved the professional options for an entire generation of Baylor undergraduates.
Elizabeth Vardaman, M.A.; Associate Dean for Special Programs, College of Arts & Sciences
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to Elizabeth's critical role in assisting and defending URSA through its initiation, and her dedication to developing activities for student researchers, including her role in the conversion of Scholars week to an undergraduate event, and her current support for a new STEM-based undergraduate journal. Elizabeth's loyal participation on the Steering Committee is deeply appreciated, and while such faithful service often goes unsung, it is the very fabric of improving and enhancing undergraduate education at Baylor.
Taylor Kohn; founder of BURST
The URSA awards selection committee has pointed to Taylor's critical role in steering and defending BURST through its initiation, and her dedication to developing opportunities for her fellow students in science and mathematics, and her generation of practical ideas for outreach and skills acquisition. Taylor's imaginative responses to administrative challenges and her time contribution in the midst of both her regular classes and her own research activities have been remarkable.
