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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Hamel Research Program Redefines Student Experience

Katie Blanchette

Katie Blanchette '12 does intaglio printmaking, drawing with needle directly onto copper plates and woodcuts.

Creative artists don鈥檛 do research, right?听Wrong.

The Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research defines research as the creation of new knowledge, whether that involves pipettes or paint brushes. 鈥淲hatever your faculty mentor did to get hired is what you do,鈥� says Georgeann Murphy, Hamel鈥檚 coordinator for international research. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to take place in a lab. It doesn鈥檛 have to take place in a library.鈥�

Dreamers, Despots, and DissidentsCory McKenzie

As a first-year student, Cory McKenzie 鈥�14 (above right) took a course called Soviet Dreamers, Despots, and Dissidents that ignited his interest in Russian Orthodoxy during the 20th century.

At many schools, McKenzie might have had to put his curiosity on hold. Instead, he put it on speed dial and successfully applied for a Research Experience and Apprenticeship Program (REAP) fellowship. The fellowship enabled him to spend the summer after his first year researching the breakup and resurgence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Working under the supervision of 易胜博官网 history professor Cathy Frierson, his project ultimately took him to religious sites and a museum in two states.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a part of scholarship you don鈥檛 experience as much during the year,鈥� says McKenzie, who鈥檚 majoring in history and philosophy.

In addition to conducting library research at 易胜博官网, he toured the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, N.Y., and St. Vladimir鈥檚 Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., where he interviewed religious leaders about the importance of each site to Russian Orthodox history. He also visited the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass., which boasts the largest collection of Russian icons in North America.

Throughout the process, he worked one-on-one with Frierson, drawing on her knowledge of Russian history and culture. When he had trouble making contact with the religious sites in New York, for instance, she assured him that wasn鈥檛 unusual. 鈥淪he told me this was a Russian cultural trait,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t takes a lot of patience and perseverance to get in touch with them.鈥�

Eventually he received a warm, friendly email. After making that initial connection, he had no problems proceeding with his research 鈥� which Frierson also said was typical.

He wrote several essays on his findings and is finishing an article about his project for Inquiry, 易胜博官网鈥檚 online journal of undergraduate research. Last fall, he came full circle: Frierson incorporated aspects of his research into a course she was teaching on Soviet history.

Indeed, Hamel has awarded grants to students in 70 different majors 鈥� a majority all the majors available at 易胜博官网. Students have completed projects in studio art and music performance, filmmaking and creative writing.

For her Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship last year, Katie Blanchette 鈥�12 explored printmaking techniques not taught in introductory and intermediate courses at 易胜博官网. She usually met twice weekly with her faculty mentor, Professor of Art Scott Schnepf. 鈥淗e was there just to help me,鈥� says Blanchette, who鈥檚 pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree. 鈥淚t was really good just to sit down and talk to him about the printmaking process, to ask him about his work and get his thoughts and opinions on my work.鈥�

Now she鈥檚 using some of the methods she learned last summer in her senior thesis, which consists mainly of small prints depicting everyday moments that are easily overlooked. Blanchette, who鈥檚 also taking courses toward her master鈥檚 degree in education, says her summer experience highlighted the value of experimentation in learning, including the process of trial and error and the need to challenge oneself to go beyond the familiar. 鈥淢ost important is developing the ability to make your own decisions and to think for yourself where something could go next.鈥�

Students from all disciplines are not only eligible to receive funding, they can do so almost as soon as they arrive on campus in their first year. A course called Student Research Experience enables students to earn academic credit while developing their research skills. Students ready for a more advanced experience can enroll in a higher-level course. Both courses provide as much as $200 to cover research expenses.

First-year students in the Honors Program may be nominated for the Research Experience and Apprenticeship Program (REAP), which pairs them with a faculty researcher during the summer after their initial year. The program provides a $3,500 stipend for a 10-week fellowship and up to $600 for expenses. Since its founding in 2007, 30 students have participated in REAP.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so valuable for our most talented freshmen to have their intellectual qualities recognized, rewarded, and encouraged,鈥� says Professor of History Cathy Frierson, who has mentored several REAP students.

One of them is Cory McKenzie 鈥�14, whose project last summer looked at the survival of the Russian Orthodox Church during the Soviet era (see profile below). He鈥檚 now applying for a second grant from the Hamel Center to explore why the Legislature repeatedly dismantled 易胜博官网鈥檚 Superior Court during the 1800s. The opportunity to pursue his own research through the Hamel Center was part of what attracted him to 易胜博官网.

鈥淣o other schools I looked at seemed to have something quite like that,鈥� he says.

Editor鈥檚 Note: This is the third in a three-part series looking at the impact of the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research on student learning.

WRITTEN BY SONIA SCHERR, 鈥�13G

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