ONE OF THE BEST

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) has presented Hope with a 2017 Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments (AURA) for the high quality of its program. Now in its third year, the award draws from CUR’s Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research, a document that presents criteria for exceptional undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity programs. AURA recognition also requires campuses to have depth and breadth in their undergraduate research initiatives and evidence of continued innovation.

Only nine colleges and universities nationwide, three per year, have received the recognition since the annual program began in 2015. Hope is the only institution in Michigan to have earned the award.

“Involving students in genuine scholarship is central to Hope’s academic program,” said Dr. William F. Polik, associate dean of research and scholarship at Hope. “We have strong research programs in all of the divisions: natural and applied sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Undergraduate research is a significant reason why Hope students are successful when they graduate. In the process of contributing to discoveries in their disciplines, students gain skills of creativity, problem-solving and independence that are critical to success after graduation.”

To read the full article, please click this link to the Hope College Magazine  – Winter 2017.