N.C. A&T Faculty Awarded Funding to Increase Undergraduate Research Engagement

N.C. A&T Faculty Awarded Funding to Increase Undergraduate Research Engagement

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 1, 2020) – To identify strategies for enhancing the undergraduate research enterprise, the University of North Carolina (UNC) System has awarded $35,000 to a team of researchers from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Winston-Salem State University and Fayetteville State University.

The “CURE-DEAL: A Tri-Institutional Collaboration for Equity-Focused Digital Engagement of Adult Learners” project supports N.C. A&T’s mission for the Office of Undergraduate Research to support and extend undergraduate students the opportunity to become engaged in mentored scholarship, original research and creative endeavors.

“This project expands awareness, access and participation of underrepresented students in undergraduate research. It focuses on faculty learning and applying new knowledge/skills to mentor undergraduate post-traditional students in research for effective and inclusive learning,” said Mulumebet Worku, Ph.D., director of the Office of Undergraduate Research at A&T.

The funding will support a collaborative project across the five public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina to engage faculty in professional development activities, and support and enhance practices for equity-focused digital engagement of adult learners in undergraduate research.

“As the first multi-institutional team to explore the ever-growing, yet understudied, undergraduate post-traditional adult learner population at HBCUs, within the UNC System, this proposed project is timely for its contribution to understanding a population believed essential to advancing the initiatives for increasing undergraduate research engagement,” said Geleana Alston, Ph.D., lead principal investigator and associate professor in the A&T Department of Leadership Studies and Adult Education.

Alston will collaborate with co-principal investigators Erin Lynch, Ed.D., at Winston-Salem State University, and Tyechia Paul, Ph.D., at Fayetteville State University. Over the next year, the team will facilitate faculty research skills development toward expanding access to undergraduate research opportunities, by establishing a professional learning community.

Additionally, A&T received subawards for two other UNC System undergraduate research projects. Department of Educator Preparation faculty members Nicole Dobbins, Ph.D., co-principal investigator; Brian Williams, Ed.D., co-principal investigator; and Nakeshia Williams, Ed.D., co-principal investigator, are collaborating on a project led by Erik Jon Byker, Ph.D., of UNC Charlotte titled, “Preparing Teachers as Researchers: Equitable Quantitative Analysis through a Culturally Responsive Lens.” A&T received a subaward of $17,438 for this project.

Additional awards were received by the College of Health and Human Sciences, in collaboration with Winston-Salem State University.

To learn more about undergraduate research at A&T, visit the website.