Wooster Receives $250,000 Grant to Launch Undergraduate Research Center

McGregor Fund investment builds on college's core strength, signature program

WOOSTER, Ohio, Sept. 14 – The McGregor Fund of Detroit, Mich., has awarded a two-year, $250,000 grant to The College of Wooster to support the launch and development of Wooster’s undergraduate research center.  The new center builds upon the college’s core strength in student and faculty research and collaboration, exemplified by its signature academic program of mentored student research, known as Independent Study, or I.S.

Assisted by faculty members, librarians, and information technology and writing center professionals, Wooster students will be encouraged to explore new approaches to their research.  In the process, students will: 

• employ more sophisticated research methods;
• select and use information and communications technologies to enhance and present their research;
• develop new channels for sharing their work with others on campus and beyond, both within and outside their disciplines;
• create digital editions of their research;  and
• gain comprehensive training in research principles and ethics.

Students will learn how to store and retrieve information more effectively and how to incorporate rich media and reader feedback in their work. New uses of technologies will facilitate their communication with outside experts. For example, a student researching the Middle East conflict might conduct Skype interviews with residents of the Gaza Strip and the nearby Israeli town of Sderot to document their experiences.

Students and faculty will chronicle the “how” of their work, producing a series of guides for other faculty and students who are interested in deploying a particular research method or technology.  In addition, an electronic archive of seniors’ Independent Study abstracts will be created, to make their work more accessible to other researchers in their fields.

“Wooster is distinctive among liberal arts colleges for its focus on student/faculty research,” said Carolyn Newton, the college's provost.  “Undergraduate research, known to have a high impact on student learning, is part of the curriculum for every student at Wooster.  Students engaged in Independent Study develop deep and long-lasting connections with their faculty mentors, who are productive scholars themselves.  With this support from the McGregor Fund, students will be able to increase the sophistication of their research methods and use the latest technology to communicate their results.” 

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally recognized for an innovative curriculum that emphasizes mentored, independent research. Each Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty adviser to create an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 2,000 students.

The McGregor Fund is a private foundation established in 1925 by gifts from Katherine and Tracy McGregor “to relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of mankind.” The foundation awards grants to organizations in the following areas: human services, education, health care, arts and culture, and public benefit. The area of principal interest of the foundation is the City of Detroit and Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties. The McGregor Fund has granted over $190 million since its founding and had assets of $141 million as of June 30, 2009.