Alumni Supported Undergraduate Research at a

Small Private University

Max W. Reams

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Funding Sources for Small Private Universities with Limited Endowments

• Tuition

• Aid/Grants:

• -federal

• -state

• -churches

• -industrial

• -private

• Alumni gifts

Limitations

• Tuition focus: non-research budgets

• Grants:

• -time intensive to acquire

• -teaching loads inhibit grant writing

• Alumni: tapped for capital projects

We focused on certain alumni…

• -Not contributing to capital projects

• -Excited for their field of study

• -Don’t require much paperwork vs. agencies

• -Have networks that expand the circle

First Step:

• Find a few alumni who believe research is key part of undergraduate education.

First group met at Homecoming and organized themselves

• Olivet Research Associates

Started small..

• Undergraduate research is difficult, if we are hung up on our grad school experiences. Why?

• Graduate facilities: expensive equipment

• Conditioned to think only of big projects with large budgets and lots of time

• Small faculty teaching loads

No gift is too small!

• Our most enthusiastic supporters:

• grad students, secondary school teachers, and those without large incomes

So what can you do with a few hundred bucks?

• Be creative! Spin off small projects from your dissertation

• Spend most money on undergraduates• Scrape supplies from department budgets• Use equipment at hand• Share equipment with• colleagues at other • schools

For a number of years…

• Alumni: enough for several projects

• Some students presented at GSA and a journal paper

To keep interest...

• Alumni meetings at Homecoming:

• -showcase student research projects

• -faculty gave talks

• -build relationships

Then, a breakthrough..

• A participating alumni couple proposed to bring our undergraduate research program to a new level

Donors’ Purpose..

• Stimulate undergraduates and faculty to do high quality research

• Honor two faculty mentors who impacted them as students at Olivet

After stumbling..

• Not used to consistent Summer funding for students doing full-time work with Olivet faculty mentors.

• After a few years of inconsistent procedures, we developed a system of:

• -How to award funds

• -Proper reports

Now..

• Three projects funded each year

• Students: full-time with mentors 10 weeks in Summer

• Mentors: small stipend

• Funds for supplies

• Funds for students to present research at professional meetings

Results..• Students present at GSA

Results..

• Increase in attending graduate programs (with significant financial support)

Results.. Student excitement in attending GSA

Critical..

• Alumni: kept up-to-date on proposals funded but not involved in selection

• Faculty: work with students in preparing professionally acceptable reports

• Only high quality work funded

Benefits..

• Undergraduates and faculty stimulated to do research

• Excitement catching for

• students!

• -attending professional

• meetings

• -promoting academic excellence

Indirect Benefit..

• Administration instituted scholarly research fund (a first for us!)

• Did our research program stimulate this?

• Who knows?

• But we always keep administration and P.R. folk informed of research projects and funding!

To make it work..

• Be willing to start small• Find alumni interested in supporting

undergraduate research• Cultivate alumni connections• Look for key alumni who can catch the

vision and support for the long haul• Keep everybody up to speed:• especially donors and administration!