January 6

Atkins Library will be closed today through Jan. 8 for exhaust fan installations and relocation. Item retrieval and interlibrary loan may be delayed during the closure. Virtual reference service will be available via chat and email.

Now that we are approaching the coldest time of the year, it is only natural to start thinking about…. summer!

Are you planning to throw yourself deeply into your research this summer? Have you considered engaging undergraduates on a research, scholarly, or creative project? Have you thought about how an undergraduate student can help your scholarly research program? Have you had students asking you questions that would be interesting to further investigate? Are you looking to test a new question or try something interdisciplinary? Do you have a need for a student, but not the means?

Yes? Yes. or Yes! The Office of Undergraduate Research can help! The OUR Scholars program can help you find and employ students in collaborative learning through undergraduate research, scholarly and creative activities. The summer program is 10 weeks long and students can log up to 400 hours working on a research project! New to mentoring summer students? Check out mentor expectations here.

We are pleased to announce that the Office of Undergraduate Research is now requesting project proposal submissions for mentor scholarship, research, and creative activities project descriptions for the 2025 OUR Summer Research Program. To learn more, please visit: https://our.charlotte.edu/summer-program. OUR will help support the scholars by also organizing professional development workshops for the summer students as well as hosting networking events and the Summer Research Symposium.

Are you ready to submit? If you’ve worked with OUR in the past, you’ll notice the faculty application looks different this year. Check out the faculty project proposal form here. If you have questions about the form, the process, or how to attract students, feel free to attend one of OUR’s virtual office hours with the Director on Thursdays or the Associate Director on Mondays.

When you’re ready, go ahead and submit your project descriptions through the competitions portal. The deadline for submission is January 16, 2025.

Don’t forget that this is only step 1. Please help us broaden the applicant pool as much as possible and ensure that the students you’re looking for are in the applicant pool. Encourage your students to apply for the program starting January 20. Learn more.

The Undergraduate Research Journal returns this year as ETHEL (Excellence, Transformation, Honor, Equity, Leadership), a student-run publication that will feature a new hybrid print/web-based format. This new hybrid format allows students to submit both traditional research papers/articles as well as other creative/scholarly works in media formats such as audio, video, and images. 
ETHEL is excited to announce our call for both Research Submissions and Student Reviewers. Charlotte undergraduate students involved in research or creative activities are encouraged to review the submission guidelines and student reviewer qualifications. The deadline to apply for a student reviewer position is January 17. The deadline to submit a paper/project is January 31. For questions, please contact the ETHEL Board.

Please be mindful that some students may request accommodation for religious holidays. As part of the University’s Religious Accommodation for Students policy 409, faculty are asked to make reasonable accommodations for religious observances, including fasting. This includes the opportunity to make up a test or other work missed due to an excused absence for a religious observance.