Lee University opened the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS) in 2021 to provide research experience to undergraduate students through faculty mentorship.

The OURS-sponsored faculty research is a program that offers faculty and upperclassmen an opportunity to engage in undergraduate research and creative activities. Faculty invite an upperclassman to co-develop the project proposal and fully conceptualize the research process. Both faculty and students complete the OURS application together, and proposals are selected by a faculty-led committee.

“Our dedicated faculty mentors are deeply committed to student success, and this program is a prime example of the university’s charge to prepare students with the requisite academic research training and creative endeavors to enter a complex world” said Dr. Kevin Ung, director of OURS and WRAP (Work-study Research Assistant Program), a program providing research experience to first- and second-year students.

Among the six faculty currently working with OURS students is Dr. Roy Chan, assistant professor of education and director of the Doctor of Education program at Lee.

Chan is currently working with Hannah Rollins, a senior mathematics and computer science major, on a project titled “Academic Ranking and Excellence in Christian Higher Education: Understanding Trends, Issues, and Challenges of University Rankings at Faith-Based Colleges and Universities.” The research project aims to establish, develop, and implement a new university ranking system for Christian leaders in U.S. higher education.

Rollins serves as a student data analyst by assisting her research team with data collection and implementation, which includes data processing and management, data cleaning and treatment, and data creation and expansion.

“As a Ledford scholar and first-generation college student, Hannah is a hybrid competence researcher who brings cognitive, digital, and self-leadership skills that are crucial for any STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) field, especially in the area of data analytics and science,” said Chan.

Another OURS project, titled “Text Painting and Emphasis in Francis Poulenc’s ‘Fiançailles pour rire,’” explores how text and music are related in a six-song cycle by Poulenc, a French composer.

“I am so honored to be able to conduct research through OURS with voice professor Dr. Nathaniel Olson,” said Lynnae Eades, a senior piano performance and music education major and student researcher on the project. “As a musician, I am very thankful for the opportunity to represent my discipline and to showcase the variety of topics there can be in music. It is really exciting to be researching a topic that not only interests me and could provide original information regarding the music, but it is also directly related to my future career endeavor as a collaborative pianist.”

Other research pairings include Katie Huynh, working with Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Jonathan Cornett on an investigation of cellular pathways that regulate environmental stress responses in C. elegans; Audrey Dutton and Emily Ritchie, working with Lee’s Department of Natural Sciences’ Chemical Hygiene Officer Courtney DeLay on isolating natural organic compounds that have medicinal properties from honey harvested from an established beehive; Charles McDowell, working with Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. Arlie Tagayuna on faith integration and policing; and Josh Gordon, working with Professor of Humanities and Dean of Lee’s College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Randy Wood on researching Cleveland’s history.

“OURS has made it easier for me to be part of something about which I am so passionate,” said Huynh. “I plan to graduate from physician assistant (PA) school, be a healthcare provider, and continue to do research because it is something that I never want to stop doing.”

For more information about OURS, visit leeuniversity.edu/ours.

For more information about WRAP, contact Ung at [email protected].