Chem4REAL Podcast: Episode 4
The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is a national organization whose mission is to support and promote high-quality mentored undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry. In this episode of the Chem4REAL podcast Dr. Nicholas Ball, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Pomona College and new CUR chemistry councilor, interviews the senior Program Director at the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and incoming CUR President, Dr. Silvia Ronco. Together they discuss the council’s vision and mission, the benefits of being a CUR member, and opportunities to get involved.
Why CUR?
One of the great benefits of CUR membership is to be “part of this wonderful community of like-minded individuals, a community that extends beyond my own discipline.” Undergraduate research (UR) is a means of enriching and advancing society and becoming a member of CUR provides faculty development opportunities in a diverse and supportive setting. CUR hosts numerous events annually to provide rich resources for networking and cross-pollination of ideas around UR. From these meetings, members interact with faculty, students and administrators from a broad array of institutions and disciplines. It is through these interactions that members find their niche to develop leadership skills, find or become a mentor, formulate new programs, advance new capacities and shape the national dialogue around undergraduate research’s role in higher education.
“The CUR community is about offering a safe platform for faculty to come and learn from each other and exchange ideas, talk to department chairs, talk to deans outside their own institutions.”
Dr. Silvia Ronco, Incoming CUR President
Vision for CUR
Ronco aspires to have the CUR organization as the premier voice of undergraduate research. To reach that goal, she is prioritizing academic and societal needs together, such as preparing a strong and diverse workforce that is job ready after graduation. CUR is currently expanding its training tools, collaborations, and grant writing capabilities to focus on diversity, equity and inclusivity issues.
“CUR believes in providing opportunities for all types of students and institutions and disciplines. The first step is to accept that we’re all biased, at certain levels, and to understand that we all need some mindful engagement in these issues.”
– Dr. Silvia Ronco
The organization must listen carefully to our members to learn what different types of institutions want and need. So, we need to have really open communication. “CUR’s Mission is to listen carefully to the changing needs of faculty, administration and institutions to be able to adapt quickly, proposing forward-looking programs and activities that appeal to both students and mentors.” Involvement in CUR is also an opportunity to give back. Ronco adds, “…you start developing this interest in helping others. And I think we all have that because we all became professors, but with CUR, …. I find it rewarding to be able to mentor students and faculty at the national level. It’s pretty transformative.”
If you are interested in listening to the full episode, you can directly link to it here! The transcript for the episode can be downloaded here: Chem4REAL Podcast: Episode 4 Transcript. You can explore all of our episodes at the bottom of this post or you can search for the Chem4REAL podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. New episodes are released monthly. As always, please be sure to subscribe and leave a rating as it helps others to find the podcast. We hope to hear your thoughts!
https://anchor.fm/curchemDr. Nicholas Ball, a new CUR Councilor in the Chemistry Division, is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Pomona College. His research focuses on developing methodologies to make and active sulfur (VI) fluorides. In this podcast episode, he interviews incoming CUR President, Dr. Silvia Ronco.
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