Research & Engagement

Goal 5: Advance creative, interdisciplinary, community-based and policy-relevant research and engagement in the U.S. and across the globe.

Objectives

1. Foster a generative environment for faculty and staff to engage in research.
2. Create more opportunities for faculty and student research collaboration.
3. Celebrate and encourage faculty and student research successes in public outreach.
4. Provide JMC students opportunities for stronger, scaffolded and experiential research training to aid their educational growth and career prospects.
5. Advance the college’s presence outside of the U.S.
6. Aim for information equity and develop transparent lines of communication about available research funding and college support for research.
7. Support and publicize JMC student and faculty work that addresses ramifications of U.S. social problems and public policy.

Progress Update

• In Progress
  • Strategy 4.3: Develop a certificate program in “research skills.”
    • The college conducted its first Data Science Bootcamp during the Fall 2023 semester. The bootcamp gave 23 students an opportunity to enhance their research skills by gaining knowledge in the operation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and a basic introduction to python coding. The Bootcamp experience provided information that will prove useful as the college continues its discussions on curriculum reform.
• Ongoing
  • Strategy 1.1: Increase Faculty Development Initiative funding.
    • Requests for Faculty Development Initiative funding have not exceeded allotted budget to date. Should funding requests exceed budget in the future, budget will be re-evaluated.
  • Strategy 1.2: Develop a policy for negotiating startup funding for new faculty based on research budgetary needs.
  • Strategy 1.3: Facilitate course offerings on faculty’s ongoing research area.
  • Strategy 1.4: Provide support identifying grants and writing grant proposals.
    • The college is currently working with MSU’s Office of Research Innovation (ORI) Post-Award Grant Management Unit to provide post-award support for selected grants.
  • Strategy 1.5: Facilitate course offerings that include faculty scholarship on teaching and learning.
  • Strategy 2.1: Incentivize faculty/student research collectives, centers or labs.
  • Strategy 2.3: Organize an annual presentation to showcase faculty research for students, providing more awareness and opportunities for equitable and collaborative engagement with students.
    • Starting in Fall 2023, the college has worked with the JMC Student Senate to provide Faculty Research Nights each semester to provide an opportunity for students to gain insights into the research topics the JMC faculty are working on.
  • Strategy 3.2: Bring wider visibility to Research Showcase held in April aiming at alumni attendance, or invite a guest speaker, in coordination with the development office.
    • The college conducted its first research showcase since the Covid lockdown during the Spring 2024 semester. The college expanded participation in the Research Showcase to any JMC student, which led to 44 students providing research presentations. The college will continue to work to expand this opportunity to showcase the innovative research being conducted at JMC.
  • Strategy 3.3: Encourage students to present their research outside JMC and provide travel costs to attend conferences.
    • The college has an Undergraduate Research Funding Policy that provides funding for students to attend an academic conference to present their research. The college also encourages students to promote their research to external audiences. In Fall 2024, the JMC Human Rights Data Science Laboratory presented its work to the American Bar Association’s Center for Global Programs Learning & Evidence Series.
  • Strategy 4.2: Ensure that methods courses within the college complement each other, providing students with a well-rounded skill set.
  • Strategy 4.4: Offer a series of one-credit short courses focused on applied skills by bringing in practitioners.
  • Strategy 5.3: Systematize the information provided to students about research and educational opportunities in the global south.
    • The college has a webpage that lists international education programs and internship offerings. Programs focused on the Global South include Global Development in South Asia, Politics, Culture and Society in Brazil, internship opportunities in South Africa, and many others.
  • Strategy 7.1: Investigate the possibility of building study away programs that encourage students to interrogate domestic social problems and public policy (Goal 3: Objective 4.2).
• Completed
  • Strategy 4.1: Increase both qualitative and quantitative methods course offerings to provide rigorous research training within the college.
  • Strategy 6.1: Centralize information about college funding for faculty and student research.
    • Research section added to JMC's website.
  • Strategy 6.3: Promote and provide information about senior thesis and independent study opportunities.
    • In Spring 2024, a research tab was added to the college website homepage to promote the various opportunities for students to get involved with undergraduate research here at JMC (independent study and senior honors thesis).
• Next Priorities
  • Strategy 3.1: Push out information about faculty and student research to the wider MSU community and general public through websites and social media.
    • Beginning in the Spring 2025 semester, JMC's Communications Office will share at least one news story per month that highlights faculty research (shared on college website, social media channels, alumni and student newsletters).
• Not Yet Started
  • Strategy 2.2: Consider incorporating faculty mentorship in research pods as part of teaching responsibilities.
  • Strategy 2.4: Create an annual award for the "best" faculty/student research collaboration.
  • Strategy 2.5: Hold mentoring session for senior honors thesis advisors, highlighting best practices.
  • Strategy 2.6: Encourage collaborations among faculty from different disciplines.
  • Strategy 3.4: Offer opportunities for faculty and students to present their research presentations as focal points for alumni gatherings and public engagement locally, across the state and domestically in JMC's top metropolitan areas.
  • Strategy 5.1: Require pre-departure DEI training for any abroad programming.
  • Strategy 5.2: Secure additional resources to increase financial and administrative support for faculty engaged in research outside the U.S.
  • Strategy 6.2: Create a web page with information about faculty development initiative funds, research assistant funding, student research funding, MSU-wide funding and outside MSU funding opportunities.
  • Strategy 7.2: Increase financial and administrative support for faculty engaged in interrogating domestic social problems and public policy.