St. Johns and St. Bens Bring Home National Award

COLLEGEVILLE (WJON News) - The College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University have brought home an award for their student research projects.

The colleges have earned the 2023 Council on Undergraduate Research Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments (AURA).

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Officials will join representatives from the University of Florida and Worchester Polytechnic Institute at the award ceremony on June 11th.

Lindsay Currie is the Executive Officer of the Council on Undergraduate Research.

The 2023 AURA recipients reflect achievements as leaders in undergraduate research that set their institutions apart. Each awardee has demonstrated a diverse portfolio of undergraduate research programs, building a culture around undergraduate research in their overall curriculums that increases engagement and practice, and investing in student-faculty recognition. These institutions exemplified steadfast commitment, no matter their size.

St. Bens and St. John’s recently launched the Emerging Scholars Program with the mission of making undergraduate research accessible to students from all backgrounds and abilities. The program is focused on first-year students who have been traditionally underrepresented in higher education. Selected students are offered a full-time, paid research position under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Lindsey Gunnerson Gutsch is the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholars at CSB and SJU.

I hope that receiving this award says to our current students and faculty in our scholarly community that we immensely value the work you do. I hope this award says to future students that if you want opportunities to ask and investigate your biggest questions if you want to challenge yourself to be innovative and creative, if you want a faculty mentor and a community that will coach you and be by your side in the lab or in the studio, CSB and SJU and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholars has a place for you. This is where you go in Minnesota for a scholarly and community-centered experience.

Officials say about 30% of all students at CSB and SJU are engaged in undergraduate research, and 40% of the faculty serve as mentors.