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Dear Colleagues,
Undergraduate research is a high-impact activity that can be a transformative experience for students. Because UK is an R1 institution, undergraduate research activities are celebrated and highlighted, and student research success is an important part of our research mission. As our research and creative work continue to flourish at UK, we seek to offer more opportunities to undergraduates to participate in the expanding research mission of the institution.
In September 2020, President Capilouto moved the Office of Undergraduate Research from Student and Academic Life to the Office of the Vice President for Research. Since that time, my office has been evaluating this office with input from a number of academic leaders, individually and as groups, and using information within the December 2019 External Review Committee report on the Office of Undergraduate Research.
To achieve the overall goal of providing undergraduates a meaningful research experience, we are restructuring the central Office of Undergraduate Research to better align with research offerings within disciplines of our colleges, while refocusing the central office to serve as a repository for data and for coordinated communication with stakeholders both within and external to the institution. The central office will continue to coordinate cross-campus events such as the long-standing Annual Showcase of Undergraduate Research, while individual research fellowships and travel funds will be determined at the college level. To support undergraduate research across the diversity of disciplines at UK, the Office of the Vice President for Research will increase funds available for the direct support of undergraduates engaged in research with a goal of increasing the number of research projects by our undergraduate population.
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