Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Several months ago, the University held its third annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, with several hundred students presenting information about their involvement with research. From chemical bonding theory to voting rights, students spoke eloquently about exciting work they are doing outside the classroom.

The sophistication of the students’ research would surprise many of you. Given the opportunity to stretch themselves through research, undergraduates can do amazing things. They have demonstrated this time and time again.

This issue of A&S Perspectives offers a few recent examples. The students highlighted here have presented their research findings at professional meetings, co-authored papers in professional journals, and become comfortable taking on graduate-level projects—all before earning their bachelor’s degrees. They have made an important transition from student to scholar.

This newsletter also highlights alumnus Arthur Levinson, who worked in faculty laboratories as an undergraduate in the early 1970s, long before the idea was popular. That early experience started him on the road to his current position as president and CEO of Genentech, a leader in the biotech industry.

Like Arthur Levinson, some undergraduates involved in research go on to pursue research careers. Others make unrelated career choices. Either way, they grow tremendously through their research experience. They come to understand how new knowledge is acquired—what it takes to frame a question and begin the search for answers—which I believe is at the heart of a liberal arts education. We are, first and foremost, an institution of inquiry.

There has been another benefit from undergraduate research. Many students are enjoying closer contact with faculty through research and better understanding the nature of their professors’ work outside the classroom. I know firsthand how important such a relationship can be. When I was in college, I worked on a research project with a faculty mentor with whom I have maintained a lifelong relationship. He has encouraged me at various stages of my life when I have had to make major decisions. It is a friendship that I continue to cherish.

Much of the credit for the increase in undergraduate research on campus goes to the Mary Gates Endowment and the Washington Space Grant Program, which together support nearly 200 students’ research experiences annually. With their support, faculty have seen what undergraduates can accomplish, given the chance. It’s a situation where everyone benefits.

I’m already looking forward to next years’ Undergraduate Research Symposium, where I can learn more about cell-cycle regulation, galactic dark matter, and maybe even a thing or two in my own field, geography. I invite you to join me.

Sincerely,

David Hodge
Acting Dean
(206) 543-5340
hodge@u.washington.edu

[Summer 2000 - Table of Contents]