The Appalachian Colleges Collaborating for Equity (ACCE) program continued its online professional development webinar series with a third presentation in March 2024. Faculty members across the consortium joined Shinjini Goswami, Associate Professor of Biology and the Assistant Dean of Natural and Health Sciences at Lees-McRae College, for a discussion on supporting undergraduate students conducting research. Goswami, who believes that hands on experience and undergraduate research helps students to become better prepared for their future careers and make them practice critical skills and stay curious, shared creative examples of the ways in which she has incorporated small-scale research into her teaching practice. She noted, "I am passionate about undergraduate research which in its own way is unique, and therefore, needs a little bit more of strategizing, time investment and executing."
Throughout the session, Goswami, an engaged member of the ACCE Steering Committee, encouraged attendees to take advantage of the ACA community. Given the size and location of ACA institutions, she underscored the value of cross-institution collaboration and networking through tools such as ACAconnect: "There is already plenty of resources. We need better communication and coordination among groups with similar interests." In contributing her knowledge and expertise to the ACA resource repository, Goswami hoped participants left the session inspired, "I hope attendees felt that even if they do not have everything they need to get started with undergraduate research, they can tweak little things while they are teaching their classes and use novel ways to involve themselves in mentoring and research."
A recording of Goswami’s presentation is available online. Information about all ACCE events (upcoming and past) can be found on the program's website.
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Program, Award #2304868 aims to address the significant challenge of hiring and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in STEM faculty positions, particularly at small rural institutions in the Appalachian region. As a non-profit consortium of 33 private four-year liberal arts institutions, the Appalachian College Association (ACA) serves Appalachian communities through the transformational work of its faculty, staff, and students. The National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program is aimed at increasing the participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby developing a more diverse science and engineering workforce. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
