Transforming Academic Culture and Curriculum

Transforming Academic Culture and Curriculum is a comprehensive guide for any faculty and academic administrators interested in enhancing the college curriculum to be more inquiry based and actively involve students as knowledge creators. By addressing this shift as a culture change, using backward design and change agency skills, engaging disciplinary contexts and rich assessment practices, the contributors help leaders see the needed steps to create sustainable and deep change. Case examples pulled from across their research study make the work tangible in various campus and departmental settings. Importantly, they make the case that building research into undergraduate education is an equity imperative to make such experiences available to all. Adrianna Kezar, Director of the Pullias Center and Professor at the University of Southern California Undergraduate research allows students to develop skills necessary to address the challenges of the 21st century. Rather than reserve this opportunity for a select few, the Council on Undergraduate Research Transformations project rightly urges universities to scaffold research into curricula in order to provide access to this high-impact educational practice at scale. By transforming approaches to faculty development and collaboration, Rice Universitys participating departments created curricula that exemplify our dual commitments to research and teaching. Reginald DesRoches, Rice University President, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering I am deeply impressed. This is a most welcome and indispensable book. First, it seeks to make the undergraduate research experience accessible to all students. Or, as the book puts it: "scaffolding is equity." If undergraduate research opportunities remain optional and highly selective, the very students who could benefit most will continue to be excluded. Second, the editors have succeeded in combining insightful case studies with extensive knowledge about change management on the one hand, and a highly practical and proven toolkit on the other. This book is a treasure for universities, faculty members, consultants, and anyone endeavoring to make higher education fit for the future. Harald A. Mieg, (Honorary) Professor of Metropolitan Studies and Innovation at Humboldt-Universitt zu Berlin This book offers one of the most comprehensive accounts of what it means to reform STEM higher education. Drawing upon the wisdom of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) community, the editors foreground the importance of undergraduate research and provide the reader with a brilliant, rich picture of institutional change. Academic faculty, staff, and administrators from all disciplines, not just STEM, will find this book tremendously useful. I certainly have. Kelly Mack, Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education and Executive Director of Project Kaleidoscope of the American Association of Colleges & Universities This book is an incredible read, examining a project that had a profound impact at the University of Arizona and helped in creating sustainable curricular and cultural change. This is outstanding work, and I am so proud to see undergraduate research being highlighted in this way. Our students are here not just for classes but to gain hands-on experience in their fields, and they have real-world impact with their research. This book is something everyone who works in academia should read. Robert C. Robbins, President of the University of Arizona This timely work vividly highlights meaningful changes within undergraduate research-focused curricula and describes the varying focuses, processes, and outcomes of the Council on Undergraduate Research Transformations project. Readers will discover essential how to strategies, developed and implemented with transformative results by programs in chemistry/biochemistry and psycholo

Mitchell R. Malachowski is Professor of Chemistry at the University of San Diego, USA. He is a Past President of CUR and is heavily invested in assisting institutions in building excellent undergraduate research programs. He was the 2014 CASE Carnegie Foundation California Professor of the Year and is a CUR Fellow. Elizabeth L. Ambos served as CURs Executive Officer in Washington, D.C. from 2012 to 2019. She has held academic administrative positions and faculty status in the California State University system, USA and is a co-author of The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research (2022). Kerry K. Karukstis is the Ray and Mary Ingwersen Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Harvey Mudd College, USA. She received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution, is a Past President of CUR, a Past Chair of the ACS Committee on Professional Training, and is an ACS Fellow and CUR Fellow. Jillian L. Kinzie is Associate Director, National Survey of Student Engagement at the Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University Bloomington, USA. She is a co-author of Delivering on the Promise of High-Impact Practices (2022). Jeffrey M. Osborn is former Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and is Professor of Biology at The College of New Jersey, USA. He is a Past President of CUR and is an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, a CUR Fellow, and an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Botany.

Part I: Dimensions of Transformation in Undergraduate Education 1. Undergraduate Research as a Key Element of Institutional Transformation Elizabeth L. Ambos, Kerry K. Karukstis, Jillian L. Kinzie, Mitchell R. Malachowski, Jeffrey M. Osborn 2. Transforming Culture Mitchell R. Malachowski, Janet A. Morrison 3. Transforming Curriculum Kerry K. Karukstis 4. Transformation Through a Disciplinary Lens Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Sherell K. Byrd, C. Gary Reiness, Kimberley A. Frederick, Bert E. Holmes, Scott C. Bates, Beth A. Cunningham, Michael Jackson, Caroline K. Quenemoen, Christine A. Wooley 5. Transformation Through Research on Student and Faculty Success Jillian L. Kinzie, Susan J. Larson 6. Transformation Through Institutional Agency Jeffrey M. Osborn, John F. Barthell, Elizabeth Eich, Rosalie A. Richards, Roger S. Rowlett 7. Theory of Change Elizabeth L. Ambos 8. Advancing Transformative Work Elizabeth L. Ambos, Kerry K. Karukstis, Jillian L. Kinzie, Mitchell R. Malachowski, Jeffrey M. Osborn Part II: Toolkit: Creating Undergraduate Research-Centric Departments Practical Tools and Techniques to Transform Curriculum and Culture 9. Introduction to the Purpose and Organization of the Toolkit Mitchell R. Malachowski, Elizabeth L. Ambos, Kerry K. Karukstis, Jillian L. Kinzie, Jeffrey M. Osborn 10. How Do We Know We Are Ready for Comprehensive Change? How Do We Frame Our Vision and Goals? Amelia J. Ahern-Rindell, Elizabeth L. Ambos 11. Ok, We Are Ready to Transform! What Steps Do We Take, Why, and When? Scott T. Cooper, Kerry K. Karukstis 12. How Do We Know If We Are Making Progress? Gerardo M. Gonzalez, Jeffrey M. Osborn, Jillian L. Kinzie Appendix Overview of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Transformations Project Jeffrey M. Osborn, Elizabeth L. Ambos, Kerry K. Karukstis, Jillian L. Kinzie, Mitchell R. Malachowski