IMPACT 2025: Undergraduate Research Mentors Matter
The College of Humanities and Sciences invites faculty and staff to IMPACT 2025: Undergraduate Research, Mentor Matter. Join us for an exciting day-long teaching and learning summit featuring speakers, panels, networking, and skill development centered on how teaching excellence results in student success.
This year, we focus on the faculty's critical role as mentors in our undergraduate research mission both in and out of the classroom. We are excited to highlight our faculty's incredible work to blend our teaching and research mission.
Participants will learn innovative and exciting ways to weave research into the classroom while sharing their challenges and successes. Come collaborate on this vital mission of the College.
Sponsored by the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences, the VCU Quality Enhancement plan (Office of the Provost), and the VCU First Generation Faculty Development and Research Center (AAPI project).
Details
Thursday, April 17, 2025
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Cabell Library, Room 303
FREE to attend
Details coming soon!
Programming Schedule
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m.
Welcome to the Day
Introductory remarks by Dean Ingrassia
9:10 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
CUREs - Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences
A panel of faculty will discuss how they drive their research using a course-based approach.
Panelists
- Derek Prosser, associate professor, Department of Biology
- Allison Johnson, professor and graduate program director, Center for Biological Data Science
- Kai Bosworth, assistant professor, School of World Studies
- Jesse Goldstein, associate professor, Department of Sociology
- Chris Burdett, associate professor, Department of Political Science
10:10 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Mentoring Matters - Student Impact
A student researcher panel
Moderator
- Herb Hill, director of undergraduate research and creative inquiry, Office of the Provost
11:10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Mentoring Matters - Maximizing Faculty Impact
A conversation about best practices for mentoring
Moderator
- Stacy Wahl, assistant professor and senior instructional designer, VCU School of Medicine
12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch
12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Keynote - Sponsored by You1st
Keynote Speaker
- Mike Hoa Nguyen, assistant professor of education, NYU Steinhardt
1:30 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Transformative Learning Initiative
A panel of faculty will discuss how they have adapted their courses to incorporate research supportive-project based learning into their ConnectEd courses.
Opening Remarks
- Andrew Arroyo, interim dean, University College
Moderator
- Matthew Vechinski, coordinator of academic programming, University College
Panelists
- Amy Tudor, assistant professor, Department of Focused Inquiry
- Beth Kreydatus, professor, Department of Focused Inquiry
- Lee Franco, associate professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
- Holly Jackson, business essentials unit director, School of Business
2:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
VIP - Vertically Integrated Projects
A panel of faculty will discuss how they incorporate undergraduates in their research using the VIP model.
Moderator
- Dayanjan Wijesinghe, associate professor, School of Pharmacy
Panelists
- Gabriela Leon-Perez, assistant professor, Department of Sociology
- Christine Cynn, associate professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies
- Jesse Goldstein, associate professor, Department of Sociology
- Frankie Mastrangelo, teaching faculty and assistant chair, Department of Sociology
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Advisor Insights
Feedback from the advisors on the type of questions students have about ugrad research