Westminster faculty member elected to national council on student research

A Westminster College faculty member has been elected to a three-year term as a council representative on the Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR) Executive Board, a dedicated group of professionals with expertise in higher education and undergraduate research who are charged with leading the organization and shaping its strategic priorities.

Dr. Karen Resendes, associate professor of biology and director of the Westminster College Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research, has been active with CUR for nearly a decade. She has chaired CUR’s Biology Division since 2017 and has been active in the CUR Transformations Project, a four-year project designed to create cohesive, research-based undergraduate curricula in biology, chemistry, physics and psychology programs.
 
She served on CUR’s Faculty Workload, Evaluation, Promotion and Tenure Task Force and helped to develop a mentoring program in the Biology Division for those interested in infusing research into biology courses. She also co-chaired the Biology Division Student Travel Awards Committee.

“I am thrilled to be able to serve CUR in this capacity. It allows me to take my passion for undergraduate research and have an impact in this arena at the national level,” Resendes said. “CUR has transitioned from appointment of councilors from each of its content area divisions to the executive board to general elections, as such this election to a new term represents CUR-wide support for my leadership in the organization.”

Resendes, who joined the Westminster faculty in 2009, earned an undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary and her Ph.D. in molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry from Brown University. She performed post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Diego.

The Council on Undergraduate Research supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. More than 700 institutions and more than 13,000 individuals belong to CUR. CUR believes that the best way to capture student interest and create enthusiasm for a discipline is through research in close collaboration with faculty members.

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