Rhodes College (Memphis, TN)
St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital Summer Plus Scholars
Summary
Through a partnership with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,
Rhodes College provides students with expanded summer opportunities for
community-based research. St. Jude biomedical researchers serve as invaluable
mentors for the students during this educational experience.
The Practice
Recognizing that research experience plays a critical role both in fostering
the skills and habits necessary for a career in the sciences and in building
confidence and a sense of professional identity, Rhodes College seeks
to create opportunities for all science majors to participate in community-based
laboratory and clinical research. Through a partnership with a local research
institute, students have the best of two worlds: small class sizes with
close faculty interaction and access to a broad range of research opportunities
at a “state-of-the-art” biomedical institute located in the
community.
Rhodes selected St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as its community
partner for its Summer Plus Scholars program. A committee of four representatives
from each institution was formed to explore the possibility of collaborative
projects. During its first year this committee recruited a pool of mentors
from St. Jude, established a process for selecting students, and admitted
six inaugural students from the departments of biology, chemistry, physics
and psychology. This coordinating committee continues to meet monthly
to support and sustain the program.
Rhodes students are paired individually with St. Jude mentors and commit
to two summers (full time) and one academic year (8-10 hours per week)
in their mentor’s laboratory. A St. Jude research mentor and a Rhodes
faculty advisor at Rhodes evaluate the student's performance in the laboratory
and on formal research reports and oral presentations at conferences and
symposia.
Summer Plus Scholars become part of a community devoted to the diagnosis
and treatment of catastrophic childhood illnesses and committed to providing
treatment and support to patients and their families regardless of income.
These students learn about the nature and importance of biomedical research
as well as the responsibility of the scientific and medical community
to provide service to all individuals in need.
Effectiveness
Over the three years since its inception, the number of students interested
in the program and the number of St. Jude mentors who volunteer to supervise
students in their laboratories have increased. The students are enthusiastic
about their experiences at St. Jude and report greater interest in pursuing
careers in biomedical research as well as greater confidence in their
ability to do so.
The St. Jude mentors demonstrate expanded interest in Rhodes undergraduates.
They serve as faculty for two Interdisciplinary Senior Seminars at Rhodes:
one focusing on Cancer Research and Treatment and the other on Neuroscience.
So far a total of 22 faculty and eight post-docs from St Jude have participated
in three seminars in which students have the opportunity to discuss the
primary literature they are reading for the course with its authors.
The Rhodes Center for Academic Research plans a comprehensive and quantitative
assessment of the impact of participation in this type of engaged learning
on retention, student satisfaction, academic achievement, and the pursuit
of postgraduate studies.
Resources
Further information about this program can be found at the Rhodes College
website (click on
the “Academics, Service, & Research” tab, and then click
on the CARES link).
Contact Information
Robert Strandburg, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for Undergraduate Research and Service
and Director of Rhodes CARES (Center for Academic Research and Education
through Service)
Rhodes College
2000 North Parkway
Memphis, TN 38112
(901) 843 3169
(901) 843 3427 (fax)
strandburg@rhodes.edu
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Effective
Practices Exchange
