CUR’s annual business meeting concluded last week at the Ohio University. Councilors welcomed new members, elected a new set of officers, and basked in the division’s achievements during the year including two new awards for students and faculty, a substantial endowment (to which you can donate), the Volunteer-of-the-Year award for our beloved outgoing chair, Maria Iacullo-Bird, and a shoutout from the CUR President for this very blog and website.
New Councilors
New councilors present at the meeting include Debra Bourdeau (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University), David García (Carthage College), and Diana McClintock (Kennesaw State University). Check out their biographies on our councilor page.
Awards débuted in 2018/19
CURAH takes great pride in two new awards in the past year, the Trimmer Travel Award for undergraduates, and the Arts & Humanities Mentor Award. Details for future applications are available on our award page. Behind these two awards lies endowed funding, and CURAH now has the largest endowment of any CUR division… by far. If you would like, you too can donate to the work of the division.
New officers
CURAH’s new chair is Alexa Sand (Utah State University); the vice-chair is Ian F. MacInnes (Albion College), and the secretary is Michelle Hayford (University of Dayton).
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This year’s Trimmer Travel Award winner is Olivia Reyes, a Global Art and Visual Culture Major at the University of Central Oklahoma. Reyes presented at the 2nd World Congress on Undergraduate Research at the University of Oldenburg. She analyzed Cuban, Polish, and American posters advertising the two American films, George C. Scott’s Rage (1972), and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972). CURAH caught up with Reyes and asked her how it went. Here is what she told us.
CURAH Chair Maria Iacullo-Bird congratulates Olivia Reyes.
Olivia Reyes reflects on her experiences
It is difficult to fully describe the value of my 2nd World Congress on Undergraduate Research experience. Nowhere else have I had the opportunity to work and collaborate with colleagues and scholars from across the globe. In addition to attending excellent keynote speakers like Dr. Lujendra Ojha, Dr. Anne Dippel, and Dr. Sonia Fizek, I also attended presentations by my undergraduate colleagues. There was such a strong emphasis on global relationships and the need for international cooperation, something that I felt we were all actively a part of in those moments.
My own presentation, a poster exploring the cross-culture development of visual languages during the Cold War through Polish, Cuban, and American film posters, was integral part of my experience. This project was the result of close to four years of work, and to be able to explore it with my international colleagues and scholars from a variety of disciplines was invaluable. I believe my research was well received, and I acquired many incites on the possibilities of traveling abroad once again to continue my research, as well as various ways to expand the research itself even further.
Cuban poster for George C. Scott’s Rage (1972)
Another truly valuable part of my experience was the chance to network with other researchers and scholars. I particularly enjoyed the “communications” thematic session. Each of us came from a wide variety of disciplines but found ways to incorporate our own knowledge and ideas into one project. Going off the idea of a colleague from South Africa, we developed a series of research questions and ideas for the development of a baby monitoring device for deaf parents, one that would be as affordable as possible for people worldwide. I am proud of what we accomplished during that short time, and I hope I have the chance to work with these colleagues in the future!
It is often said that we live in an increasingly global community, and indeed, in order to tackle global issues it is more important than ever to connect with colleagues from a variety of disciplines and from around the world. I believe the 2nd World Congress on Undergraduate Research was the first of opportunity of many for my colleagues and myself to be a part of that global dialogue. I am truly honored to have attended such an event, and I am grateful to have received the Trimmer Travel Award.
The Arts & Humanities Division proudly announces an important addition to our funding programs! Joe Trimmer, a founding member of the Arts and Humanities Division, and his wife Carol have established the Trimmer Travel Fund. The fund supports an annual award to support international travel for undergraduate research presentations in the Arts and Humanities. The Trimmer Travel Fund anticipates making its first award to a student presenting at the May 2019 World Congress on Undergraduate Research in Oldenburg, Germany.
The Donors
Joe Trimmer is Professor Emeritus of English at Ball State University (Muncie, IN) and the founding director of the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry. He is the author of numerous books on literature and culture, and a contributor to 20 PBS documentaries. He has served on the CUR Executive Board as the Arts and Humanities Division Representative, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Indiana Humanities. Carol Trimmer has served as the Outreach Coordinator for IPR, Ball State University’s NPR member station, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Arts Place, a regional Indiana arts organization, and Muncie’s nonprofit Gallery 308.
The National Office and the Arts & Humanities Division are deeply grateful for Joe and Carol Trimmer’s generosity and commitment to undergraduate research. Their gift is an important step in supporting arts and humanities student participation in international research conferences.
How to Apply
The Calls for Submissions for CURAH Travel Awards are now open. Please encourage students accepted to the World Congress to apply for the Trimmer Travel Award:
Applicants should submit the completed application form and all attachments as per the instructions to the CURAH Division Chair, Dr. Maria T. Iacullo-Bird by the deadline of Monday, February 25, 2019. Award announcements will be made by March 15, 2019.
The Arts and Humanities Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research
