The ACU Department of Physics has a long history of including our students in our world-class research programs.  Our students work side-by-side with mentoring Christian faculty members.  The results of our work are published in peer-reviewed journals with our students as our co-authors.

• For more than 30 years the Nuclear Physics Research Group has conducted research at national laboratories.  During the past 3 years more than 30 students have worked with us on three research projects investigating the internal structure of the proton and making precision measurements needed to build the next generation of nuclear power plants.  Primarily funded by research grants from the Department of Energy, funding for this year is almost half a million dollars.  Plans for the summer of 2011 include 15 students working at 5 different national laboratories (Los Alamos National Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory).
• The Solid State Research Group is our newest research group and the department’s only completely on-campus experimental efforts.   This group uses phonon-imaging techniques to measure the acoustic properties of crystals.  Seven students have worked with this group during the past 3 years.
• Plans for the future of our department include adding an ABET accredited engineering degree.  With the addition of an engineering program, new research opportunities and internships for our students will be available.

QEP – Two JMC Goals

a.     Every JMC major will participate in at least two semesters of mentored creative professional productivity in media/agency labs and produce professional work product worthy of submission to regional or national competition.

b.     By May 2014,  20 percent of  JMC majors will  participate in a mentored scholarship project with a faculty member by the time they graduate, producing work worthy of  submission to the peer-reviewed process.

The Political Science Department has two strategies that we are using to implement the QEP.  First, we as individual teachers in our teaching areas are incorporating students in our research.  As a result, we are co-authoring presentations and publications with students.  Second, we are encouraging our students to independently do research (which we sometimes are able to supervise) and present it at national POLS conferences, at regional honors conferences, and our Undergraduate Research Festival.

Currently the department has in place a set of three research enhancement initiatives which are currently being used to help the student develop basic research skill sets and make application of those skills to more advanced projects in composition, arranging and performance.  Some students, due to their particular degree program, will complete three projects and some, depending on major, only two.  We believe that the combination of a basic research component in a beginning course with the addition of two or three additional research/creative experiences will provide the necessary framework for continued research and creative projects in the future.

I.  MUSM 131 Music in World Cultures  (Freshman Experience)

(Introduction to Basic Music Research Project)

Research Project

Purpose of the Activity

This assignment is designed to give each class member an opportunity to develop some basic skills in researching the music of world cultures.  Obviously, we can only explore a few of the world’s musical traditions in one semester.  The most important things that you should gain from the course are:

• an awareness of the astounding variety of musics from around the globe, and

• the ability to learn more as your own curiosity and academic pursuits, as well as your teaching and performing activities, raise further questions regarding the music of various world cultures.

This research project will allow you to explore some of the resources related to world music that are readily available, giving you a foundation for further study.

Description

Each person will choose a focused topic that has not been dealt with extensively in class.

NOTE: You may not cite any materials that we have already used in class this semester.

1. Briefly (one well written paragraph) describe the musical tradition you are exploring:

a. Nationality/specific culture group (“who”)

b. Geography (“where”)

c. Musical tradition(s) being examined (“what”)

d. Any appropriate specific information such as description of genre, instrument used, cultural context (religious or secular, etc.)

2. (a) Compile a five-item (minimum) listing of audio or video materials related to your topic. CDs and DVDs work well; other sources may be used with discretion.

(b) Compile a bibliography of at least five books or journal articles related to your topic.

You must use a standard bibliographic format for your listing. PLEASE use the format guide provided in class.

3. Compile a listing of five URLs for websites directly related to your topic.  In addition to creating a hyperlink by writing out the complete URL, you must also include a brief (two or three sentence) annotation that gives a good summary of each site.

4. Provide photocopies (apx. 2 or 3 pages each) related to your topic from two of the three following sources found in the reference section of the ACU Brown Library:

• Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. 10 volumes.

• World Music: The Rough Guide, vol. 1 and 2.

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

TIMELINE:

• Monday, April  5 — have your topic chosen and approved (in writing)

• Wednesday, April 21 — turn in your project IN TWO FORMATS

1. Hard copy: preferably one page, copied front/back (not including photocopies of pages from reference sources)

2. E-mailed as a Word document attachment to:

II.  MUST 432 Orchestration and Arranging  (Junior Experience)

(Final Orchestration /Arranging Project)

Semester Experiences Leading to the Final Project:

1.     Introduction of all instruments of the orchestra—ranges, limitations, sound qualities available.

2.     Introduction of principles of orchestration

3.     Introduction of composer software choices available: Sibelius, Finale

4.     Introduction to possibilities for score printing, playback, part extractions, etc. in Sibelius and Finale

Final Orchestration Project:

1.     Selection of piece to orchestrated – done in conjunction with the teacher

2.     Discussion of appropriate ensemble and instruments to be used

3.     Completion of the orchestration with checks and comments for improvement by the teacher based on score and electronic playback

4.     Print conductor score and parts after final approval

5.     Conduct the orchestration project with the band, orchestra, or jazz band (semester end)

III.  Senior Recital  (All Senior Music Education/Performance Majors)

(Final Creative Activity Project Involving Historical and Stylistic Research/Language Translation)

Senior Project Requirements:

1.     Selection of repertoire that displays an understanding of historical styles from a variety of composers to be performed with an hour time frame.

2.     Selection of repertoire should demonstrate the very best of the student’s abilities without being too easy or going beyond the capability of the established norms for a quality undergraduate program.

3.     Program notes are to be written by the student utilizing research techniques learned through the sophomore and junior experiences.

4.     The vocal student must also translate all texts, provide translations for the program, and be able to provide a literal translation for each phrase as it is rehearsed for the recital.

5.     The student must learn to work closely with the collaborative pianist in a give and take artistic endeavor.

6.     The student and teacher work together to create an unique and creative approach to each piece that is appropriate and stylistically correct.

7.     The student must also incorporate excellent stage deportment skills as a part of the recital program.

Take a look at the following Optimist iPad Project video:   Art and Design Creative Expressions

Faculty in the Department of Art and Design work with our undergraduates in numerous ways towards the production of creative products in efforts to further the body of knowledge of the discipline. Here are three examples:
First and Second Year ReviewsAll first and second year art and design students are required to participate in yearly reviews. Students prepare a portfolio of work produced in the classroom over the previous year and present it to a group of 4 to 6 faculty members. The portfolio must includes process material that communicate the students visual thought process throughout the evolution of a creative product. Students are evaluated on several dimensions including verbal skills about visual concepts. Reviews give faculty members an opportunity to lead and direct individual student based on a comprehensive body of original, creative work. They also require students to think critically about the work they have produced and the processes utilized.
Senior ShowsIn collaboration with 4 or 5 other graduating seniors, all art and design students are required to curate and produce a gallery show of the work they have completed during their time at ACU. The work is shown publicly in one of our two galleries for a period of several weeks. The process of assessing, preparing and exhibiting their work for public display is both daunting and demanding. The curation (assessment) process is often done collaboratively with faculty mentors giving opportunity to guide students in the critical thinking needed to compile a cohesive body of original work. Students are also required to write and display an ‘artist statement’ that articulates the concepts and core ideas embodied in their work.
Interface for the iPadOur Spring, 2010 interactive design class worked with professors and students from 3 departments to design and produce the interface for the first iPad app for a university newspaper. The Art and Design students researched and explored best practices for a platform that hadn’t been released to the public. The research phase required students to learn and implement cutting edge processes from many disciplines. Faculty members from Art and Design, Computer Science and Journalism mentored and directed students over a 3 month period. We have already seen remarkable results from this kind of innovative, collaborative and cross-disciplinary project. Very recently a student from the course accepted a position at The Daily, the first international daily newspaper produced solely for the iPad.

Communication Department QEP involvement for 2010-11

3.  Jon Camp mentored three students through submission, acceptance, and presentation of research at the National Communication Association annual convention in San Francisco in November, 2010.

1. Since at least the 1940’s, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (and its predecessors) has maintained an active student laboratory research program. The department has received continuous research support from the Robert A. Welch Foundation since 1960, now totaling nearly $2.5M, in addition to various other research grants. The department received the university’s first endowed professorship, the M. E. “Mac” Pruitt Professorship in Chemistry in the early 1980’s, to support the research efforts of the Pruitt Professor. Every full-time professor has a Ph.D. and laboratory research space, and an active research program. One result of this 60-70-year commitment to research is that graduates from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have earned over 105 Ph.D.s in chemistry, biochemistry, and related disciplines. The department’s annual research budget, including salaries for faculty and students and supplies, but excluding any base salaries, is around $60,000.

2. A major focus of the department is preparation of students to enter health professions. As part of this preparation, these students shadow physicians and dentists, they work in pharmacies, they observe surgeries. Many go on medical missions where they can actually treat patients by injecting medication or pulling teeth. The meet regularly as part of the Christian Medical and Dental Association to hear testimonies from practicing doctors and dentists and professional school students about how their faith has impacted their profession and vice versa. These students take a medical ethics class that forces them to think about some of the toughest life and death decisions that lie before them, but in a setting where they are safe and have time to consider all aspects of these decisions. All of these research activities make these students more knowledgeable about the discipline they have chosen, and allow them to more fully commit to the path before them or perhaps to change course before they go too far down this path. Graduates from this department have earned over 160 professional doctoral degrees in the health care field.

3. For students from this department who do not enter graduate or professional schools, they primarily enter the workforce as chemists or biochemists. For these students, the availability of a degree from this department that is approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS) may make the difference in the kind of job for which they can apply. Some employers will not consider entry-level chemists or biochemists whose bachelors degrees are not approved by the ACS. For this reason, the ACU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1971 sought and received ACS accreditation, making it probably the first such accreditation of any department at ACU. The standards that are required by the ACS ensure that graduates with-ACS approved degrees have completed rigorous classes in chemistry and biochemistry that force them to explore the chemical literature, create a product using what they have learned from the chemical literature, and express the results of their research in written and oral formats. Students completing these programs are ideally suited to enter the chemical profession and be successful. M.E. “Mac” Pruitt rose to the level of vice-president for research at Dow with a BS degree from ACC as his only formal training. Many others have followed in his footsteps to enjoy successful careers in various industries and government.

Department of Sociology and Family Studies

College of Arts and Sciences

Abilene Christian University

Goals for Involving Faculty and Students

in Scholarly Research and Creative Activities

A. The Department will adopt what is largely considered a “best practice model” for teaching/mentoring undergraduate students in social research and statistics as follows:

1. Students first enroll in SOCI 415: Social Research during the fall semester in which they produce a formal research proposal; then,

2. Students enroll in SOCI 416: Social Statistics the following spring semester during which they engage in the actual collection and analysis of data according to the designed methodology described in their research proposal prepared during the fall semester.

3. Where possible, the same professor will teach the research and statistics courses in order to promote continuity between professor and student.

B. The Department will seek to support 1-2 faculty members per year in mentoring ACU students in research projects with the expressed purpose of presenting the research findings at the ACU undergraduate festival and other outlets appropriate to the discipline. One or more students will develop and submit a research proposal to study a topic of interests under the supervision of a faculty member. Students will report the findings of the study via classroom presentations, at the undergraduate research festival, at local and state conferences, or other settings.

C. The Department will request each faculty member to identify one or two courses in which they will embed research related scholarly activity. For example: in FAM 251 students currently 1) select a topic, 2) create and revise interview questions, 3) collect and analyze qualitative data, and  4) disseminate findings through notebook and in-class presentations.

Undergraduate Research—Scientific Reasoning

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (A&E) are applied sciences building on the natural sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry) and for agribusiness, also the social sciences.  Therefore, our students have historically been exposed to the scientific method and critical reasoning throughout their academic experience at ACU.  Yet, to more fully engage our students in this process in the future, three key steps are being taken.  They are:

1)     All A&E students take AENV 110- Introduction to Agricultural and Environmental Systems at initial enrollment.  A part of the course curriculum concentrates on the scientific method and critical thinking, and how applied scientists use the scientific method.

2)     A&E has set an initial goal that 5% of our students will engage in faculty mentored research as undergraduates.  Subsequently, research findings will be developed into oral or poster presentations for delivery at disciplinary professional conferences.  A&E is currently meeting this goal.  In fact, many of our students have won honors at these conferences.  Students are also expected to present their research at the ACU Undergraduate Research Festival.  For the first time in 2011, ACU students will also present their research at the inaugural Research Symposium sponsored by the Agriculture Consortium of Texas.  Our next step is to increase this number to 10% of our undergraduates as funding allows.

3)     A&E students engage in senior-level capstone courses in their respective disciplines (i.e., agribusiness, animal science, environmental science).  Products vary, but senior-level students are expected to produce artifacts ranging from scientifically supported position papers to pieces built upon primary data.  All artifacts are evaluated by A&E faculty and several of them are assessed by evaluators outside of the department (e.g., writing samples for Writing Across the Curriculum, professional conferences).

The Department of Foreign Languages works with students on undergraduate research the following ways:

• Carolyn Thompson is serving as mentor for Jessica Backfisch’s poster presentation in the Research Festival.  The research project comes from the Senior Seminar on INTS…where each student has to write a 20-25 page research paper on an internationally focused problem.
• Harlan Rall is mentoring Lisa White–with a good part of mentoring also coming from Vernon Williams–for the same festival.  Lisa’s topic will look at immigration difficulties into the US and some reverse economical issues.
• Rall mentored the Model UN group, for Model UN presentations and competition.