The Culverhouse Faculty Scholars Program is now accepting volunteers for Faculty Mentors for the 2023-2024 academic year (to begin working with students on research projects early in the fall semester of the 2023-2024 academic year). Through this program, Culverhouse undergraduate students (those majoring in at least one of the Culverhouse programs) are matched with faculty in our college who have common research interests, and participating students will have an opportunity to serve as research apprentices to faculty mentors. The experience is tailored to the interests and backgrounds of the students and participating faculty members, and participating students can fill a wide variety of roles that may include assisting with development of research questions, reviewing the current literature, developing computer programs, collecting and analyzing data, and writing papers for publication.
Faculty Mentors benefit from participation in the Culverhouse Faculty Scholars Program by having a research assistant who will be paid to work up to 10 hours per week supporting research projects the faculty member might not have otherwise been able to complete. In some cases, participation in the program may lead to a longer-term research relationship that can be a source of well-qualified students for doctoral programs.
The Culverhouse Faculty Scholars Program is an ideal way for a faculty member to initiate a working relationship with a top undergraduate student or continue a working relationship that has been established with a student through the University of Alabama Emerging Scholars Program.
Faculty Mentor responsibilities include:
- Scheduling and holding regular meetings with your Faculty Scholar. Weekly or biweekly (in-person or remote) meetings at mutually agreed upon times are suggested.
- Working with your Faculty Scholar to develop a plan, including deliverables that moves your research project forward.
- Working with the Faculty Scholar to create a presentation of her or his Faculty Scholar efforts for the University of Alabama’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Conference in the spring semester.
- Ensuring the Faculty Scholar is performing her or his duties in a timely manner and immediately informing the Associate Dean for Faculty & Research when the Faculty Scholar is not performing her or his duties in a timely manner.
Note that Faculty Scholars should not be used for instruction.
You may volunteer to serve as a Faculty Mentor in this program at any time; however, priority for the 2023-2024 academic year will be given to those who submit this form by September 1, 2022. You may access the Faculty Mentor volunteer form here.
If you have a student with whom you would like to work through the Culverhouse Faculty Scholars Program, you may indicate so on the volunteer form and we will try to accommodate your wishes (please make sure that the student also applies for the Culverhouse Faculty Scholars program). If you would like to participate in the Culverhouse Faculty Scholars Program but do not have a student in mind, please apply; we will try to identify an appropriate student applicant who you may consider for this role. In either case, a student who wishes to participate in the Culverhouse Faculty Scholar Program must apply early in the Fall semester of the 2023-2024 academic year at a URL we will provide in an email message to all Culverhouse undergraduate students this Friday. We will also attempt to accommodate faculty who would like to work with multiple Faculty Scholars during the upcoming academic year (budget permitting); the volunteer form allows you to indicate that you would like to work with up to three Faculty Scholars.
Also note that a student selected to participate in the 2023-2024 Culverhouse Faculty Scholars program cannot begin working until the student has completed an application and submitted a completed I-9 form (unless the student has done so in the past six months).
Questions?
Contact Associate Dean for Faculty and Research Shawn Mobbs at hsmobbs@ua.edu for more details.