Feature
Physics professor Marvin Marshak, the new faculty director of the Office for Undergraduate Research, takes a global perspective in introducing students to the joys of discovery.
A sea change in campus culture
New initiatives put undergraduates in the spotlight--and the driver's seat
By Deane Morrison
March 30, 2007
As an aspiring electrical engineer, freshman Tahnee Zerr is
excited that the University is making good writing as integral to
her studies as good wiring. "No matter what you do in life, you
will need to be able to communicate clearly," says Zerr. "Not
everybody's an engineer. I can't just use formulas to explain
things." And the
writing initiative isn't the only way the University is
improving life for undergraduates on the Twin Cities campus. From
more opportunities to study abroad or perform research, to more and
closer contacts with advisers, the University is pulling out all
the stops to change the very atmosphere on campus. The overhaul
represents "a genuine culture change in the way the University
structures the undergraduate experience for students," says Craig
Swan, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. The change
won't be cosmetic; rather, it will be tangible and even intrusive,
in the sense that the University will actively help students take
responsibility for their own learning and forge their own path to
both scholarly and personal success.
The overhaul represents "a genuine culture
change in the way the University structures the undergraduate
experience for students," says Craig Swan, vice provost and dean of
undergraduate education.
For example, regardless of major, all students will be expected to
master not only a body of knowledge but skills in communication,
critical thinking, and problem-solving. At the same time, they will
be guided to become responsible, resilient, self-confident adults
who appreciate the differences among people. Much of the help will
come from advisers. Generally, U freshmen work with a professional
academic adviser in their college; then, as they declare a major,
they may switch to a faculty adviser or have one of each. Now, the
University is developing campuswide training and materials for all
advisers. "We want everybody to have the same information and the
same opportunities," says Laura Coffin Koch, associate vice provost
for undergraduate education. "We want to make sure students get
consistent and timely information in all colleges." Advisers will
help students find not only the right courses but also
opportunities for performing research, studying abroad, or getting
involved in other activities that will allow them to grow in
maturity and confidence as well as in academic knowledge.
With Marvin Marshak, students
always win
Few people have done more for students than physics professor
Marvin Marshak, the new faculty director of the Office for
Undergraduate Research.
The founding director of Residential College--the U's first
living-learning program--and a Morse-Alumni Award-winning teacher,
he likes to draw students into the academic life by taking them to
big physics experiments everywhere from northern Minnesota to
Europe.
But while his door is always open to students, he prefers
conversations at the Rec Center.
"I play racquetball with students," says Marshak. "They win, and I
get exercise chasing 20-year-olds around the court."
Also an avid bicyclist, Marshak grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and
graduated from Cornell University, where he wrote for the student
paper. One week, just before a big Cornell-Princeton basketball
game, Marshak and other newspaper staffers went to Princeton and
replaced all the copies of the Princeton student paper with bogus
editions predicting the demise of the Princeton team and its
shining star, Bill Bradley.
Marshak is married to Anita Kolman, an artists' representative.
They have two children: Rachel, a bond trader in New York; and
Adam, a history graduate student at Yale.
The dual emphasis on making sure its graduates shine both
intellectually and personally sets the University apart and aims
for a central outcome: alumni with all the tools of citizenship and
the capacity to use them.
Then and now One alumnus
who appreciates the changes is Mark Lescher, who graduated with a
degree in psychology 10 years ago. "I love the idea of the writing
initiative and more aggressive advising," he says. "I was able to
avoid having to talk to an adviser, except when I chose to. At the
time, it helped me feel like an independent adult, but in
retrospect, I might have gotten through the U earlier, especially
if I'd had more of a 'goal' focus with respect to graduate school."
As an undergraduate, he says, it was hard to find out much more
about graduate schools than the required GPA and prerequisites. In
2002, Lescher returned to the U and earned a bachelor's degree in
architecture; he is now pursuing a master's degree in the College
of Design. Advising in the School of Architecture is very good, he
says: "They seem more proactive than when I was here before."
Lescher likes the idea of the writing initiative because, as a
person who took several writing courses on his own, he clearly sees
its value. Students like Lescher and Zerr will benefit further from
a $996,000 Bush Foundation grant, awarded to the University in
March, to help make good writing an integral part of work toward
every undergraduate degree.
A head start All
freshmen are getting an early boost to their careers as university
students. Several programs already help, such as the Nature of Life
program, which takes incoming College of Biological Sciences
freshmen to the University's Lake Itasca Field Station in August
and gives them a rigorous introduction to the life of a biologist.
On deck for 2007 is the Bridge to Academic Excellence, a free
six-week program, starting in June, for about 80 incoming freshmen
identified as in need of extra support. They will take one writing
and one science course, tallying six credits by the time they begin
fall semester classes. Starting in fall 2008, a campuswide Welcome
Week, held the week before fall semester, will reach the entire
freshman class. "Welcome Week will focus on getting students
acclimated to their college, the University, and the community,"
says Koch. Besides receiving tips on navigating the University,
freshmen will be encouraged to start thinking about how to take
advantage of such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities as studying
abroad, completing a degree with honors, or doing research with a
faculty member and perhaps seeing their work published.
Expanding horizons To keep students on track
toward meeting goals in both academics and personal growth, the
University will work hard to give every student at least one
experience with a mentor before graduating. Besides giving them
study, research, or service opportunities, mentors will help
students reflect on their experiences and realize the progress
they've made. For example, an undergraduate doing research may find
herself learning how to schedule her time, set goals, and deal with
the ambiguity and sometimes outright failure that every research
scientist inevitably encounters. For students like Sarah Tupy, a
junior chemical engineering major doing research in the laboratory
of world-renowned Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt, the chance to
work with a passionate, brilliant researcher is not to be missed.
"Lanny's work is innovative, cutting-edge," says Tupy. "I plan to
attend graduate school ... and my experience in the lab has
stimulated my enthusiasm for a career in research." To encourage
students to take advantage of such opportunities, the University is
streamlining research programs. In February physics professor
Marvin Marshak became the faculty director of the new Office for
Undergraduate Research. It will include the Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program (UROP) and will connect with undergraduate
research programs housed in colleges and elsewhere in the
University. "Now, about 25 to 30 percent of graduating students
have had some sort of research experience," says Marshak. "Our
working goal is to get about half of undergraduates to have one by
the time they graduate." If research is exciting, research in a
foreign country can be even more enticing.
Ten years of progress
Between 1996-97 and 2006-07, the undergraduate experience saw many
changes, including online registration, a switch from quarters to
semesters, a remodeled Coffman Union, more on-campus living
quarters, and numerous changes in curricula. The difference between
then and now shows up in many ways:
>Percentage of freshmen living on campus rose from 71.1 to
80.6
>Percentage of students rating the overall quality of academic
programs as excellent or good rose from 37.4 to 64.4
>Percentage of students in the top 10 percent of their high
school class rose from 28 to 38.7
>Four-year graduation rate rose from 15.2 to 40.7 percent
A pdf with
these and more statistics is available.
"We need to expand the opportunities to do undergraduate research
abroad," says Kathleen Sellew, associate director of the Office of
International Programs. "We think making international
opportunities an integral part of existing structures such as UROP
or the honors program would be a good idea. We strive for 50
percent of students having a study abroad experience, and offering
more research options can only increase the relevance of the
program abroad to the undergraduate experience." Pursuing a degree
with honors is another option for students who want to stretch
their minds in new directions. By fall 2008, the honors programs
now housed in individual colleges will be merged into a single
campuswide University Honors Program under its founding director,
physics professor Serge Rudaz. Academic excellence is, of course,
central to the mission of the Honors Program, with the goal of
helping students learn how to think like the best minds in their
field of study. "They will be exposed to new perspectives through
carefully crafted curricula and to a variety of opportunities to
sample the intellectual life of the University, think for
themselves, and apply what they have learned," Rudaz says. "We want
to be proactive in taking students who are highly motivated and
present them with every opportunity for growth."
Smoothing
the way Beginning this fall, students will be able to find
information and resources through a new Web portal and will chart
their progress toward graduation with a Web-based Graduation
Planner. Also in the works is the Engagement Planner, another Web
tool, which will help students find nonacademic activities such as
arts, politics, and social service organizations that appeal to
them while building character and broadening perspectives. Students
looking for academic help can drop in one of the new SMART Learning
Commons centers. The SMART Commons also house the Peer Assisted
Learning Program, which provides students who lead group study on
topics connected with specific courses. Now located in Wilson
Library, Klaeber Court, and Magrath Library, the Commons will soon
open a new branch in Walter Library. The University is also moving
full speed ahead to supply new sources of financial support, such
as the Founders Free Tuition Program and the Promise of Tomorrow
scholarships. The ultimate reward for its efforts will be the trust
that its graduates have achieved a command of knowledge and
critical thinking skills, an appreciation of other cultures, the
ability to communicate clearly, and all the other attributes
necessary for citizens of a rapidly changing world.
Read more about writing
Learn about the University's
writing initiative and the new
Bush Foundation grant.