Cornell Summer Research Institute

Through generous funding from the Hewlett Foundation Endowed Funds, the Dimensions Program, the Berry Career Institute, the Roger Gillette Student-Faculty Research Fund, and the Rebecca Joe Wearin Pulk Student-Faculty Research Fund, Cornell College is pleased to announce 2021 Cornell Summer Research Institute (CSRI). 

The primary objectives of the CSRI are to demonstrate the vitality of summer student-faculty research as a component of experiential learning and the Ingenuity in Action curriculum; expand student-faculty collaborative research projects beyond the sciences and consider ways in which such activities may be embedded into the curriculum; and provide a living-learning community for student participation to encourage formal and informal dialogue between students and faculty from different academic disciplines, and provide a venue for programming. As members of the CSRI, students should be exposed to the diverse goals, research methods and skills to conduct advanced research in their fields of study, prepare research reports of their findings, and present their conclusions to their peers in classes, a departmental seminar for majors, at the annual Cornell College Student Symposium, or at professional meetings. Students are expected to reside in the living-learning community and participate in the program opportunities provided. Collaborative research projects should foster a mentor-apprentice relationship between the faculty member and the student, and expose the student to the processes of scholarly inquiry and discovery that characterize the life of a scholar/teacher. Ideally, the relationship between the student and faculty member will continue following the summer.  

General Guidelines:

1. Any faculty member teaching full time or team of full-time faculty members may apply for summer student research assistant grants in support of on-going research or in support of a student research project designed in collaboration with the faculty member. Both types of projects should be carried out under the direct supervision of the faculty mentors over what would normally be an eight-week period. Faculty members seeking support for a student for less than 8 weeks should be in contact with the Institute Director prior to crafting a proposal.

2. Faculty members will be asked to support more than one student researcher in accordance with Ingenuity in Action guidelines. CSRI is a pre-approved activity for the research category within Ingenuity in Action, a component of the Ingenuity curriculum. The goal of the Ingenuity in Action program is to ensure experiential learning opportunities are available and accessible to all students. To achieve this goal, students may be selected to participate in CSRI in two ways:

   1.  Faculty may choose one student that meets the desired qualifications to participate in the approved CSRI experience. Once the student has been selected by the faculty member, the student must then formally apply to the Ingenuity in Action program to receive funding and meet the requirements of the program.

   2. Students may apply directly to Ingenuity in Action and request to be considered for a CSRI experience. The Ingenuity in Action committee will then consult with the CSRI-funded faculty member and the CSRI coordinator to select up to one additional student for each CSRI experience based on student preferences, qualifications and availability of funding. Those without prior research experience will be prioritized. The number of funded students may be limited due to budget constraints.  

Regardless of the method in which students are selected for CSRI, they must apply, be approved, and complete the requirements for Ingenuity in Action in order to receive funding.

3. Awards are competitive and based on a proposal submitted by the faculty member. Proposals will be considered by the Divisional Council. Awarded funds are available May 10, 2021. Project funds must be expended in full by July 16, 2021; requests for reimbursements must be received no later than 30 days past that date.

4. Employment of the student researcher is contingent upon the results of a background check to be conducted by the college and verification of employment eligibility.

5. Students funded under the CSRI are expected to live in the housing provided and participate in related programming. Students involved in research that requires them to be away from campus for a portion of the 8-week interval are expected to live in CSRI-provided housing when they are working on campus. Limited exceptions to the residential component may be granted, by petition, for research projects that occur off-campus.

6. Awarded funds must be used for the purposes described in the proposal. If a faculty member wishes to use the funds in any other way, he or she must consult with the Provost in advance to seek approval.

7. Expectations of Faculty: The Faculty member and the student are responsible for designing and implementing a meaningful research experience. The project should involve a process whereby the student carries out the research with a solid understanding of the research question, the theory and methodology informing the research, the methods, skills and technical knowledge required to complete the research, the methods and rigor in recording of data and research results, and the writing of a final report at the discretion of the faculty collaborator.
   
   Prior to starting the research, the faculty member and the student should agree on the expectations of the research experience. During the summer, the faculty member and the student assistant should be in frequent contact with one another, at least several times a week. This close collaboration between the faculty member and the student is the foundation for a successful program and a meaningful research experience.
   
   Ingenuity in Action participation requires that the student submit a final reflection at the completion of the experience. The faculty member is responsible for approving the reflection that the student submits for Ingenuity in Action so that the experience can be transcripted and satisfy one of the student’s Ingenuity in Action requirements. More information can be found in the Ingenuity in Action Program Guide.

The faculty member will work with the student to arrange a presentation of the research results to the campus through presentations in classes, a departmental seminar for majors, the annual Student Symposium, or at a professional meeting in the discipline (as a poster or oral presentation on which the faculty member may be co-author).  

The faculty member shall submit a written evaluation of the project, the performance of the student, and the accomplishments of the research by August 31, 2021.  The grantee cannot be considered for additional faculty development funding if this report is not filed.

8. Expectations of the Student Researcher: The student will be expected to work full-time for eight weeks on the proposed research project under the direction of the faculty mentor. If a student works less than eight weeks, the student compensation will be adjusted accordingly. The student is expected to reside in the living learning community while they are on campus and participate in all related programming. The student must submit a final reflection at the completion of the experience and the reflection must be approved by the faculty member so that the experience can be transcripted and satisfy one of the student’s Ingenuity in Action requirements.  The student should share the final results of the project with the campus through presentations in classes, a departmental seminar for majors, the annual Student Symposium, or at a professional meeting in the discipline (as a poster or oral presentation on which the faculty member may be co-author). The faculty collaborator may further require a written final report.