2008 Beckman Scholars Program Information

To: 2008 Beckman Scholars Program Institutional Award Recipients

From: The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

Subject: Background Information for Beckman Scholars 2008 Program Awards

“The fifteen 2008 Beckman Scholars Program Institutional Award recipients have convincingly demonstrated excellence, distinction and distinctiveness in their undergraduate research capabilities and commitments as well as in their plans and activities for their Beckman Scholars.”

Jacqueline Dorrance
Executive Director

Introduction

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation’s consideration of its Beckman Scholars Program initiative included: An extensive search of relevant printed and electronic media materials on the status of undergraduate research in the chemistry and biological sciences at universities and colleges across the nation; discussions with the Foundation’s Grants Advisory Council; conversations with the undergraduate research program directors in chemistry and the biological sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF); discussions with university and college faculty members who have led nationally recognized undergraduate research programs in the chemistry and biological sciences; and, communications with the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

The Foundation has concluded that the Beckman Scholars Program provides unique opportunities for excellence through sustained, in-depth, faculty mentored undergraduate laboratory research experiences for a group of our nation’s most talented and gifted undergraduates in the chemistry and biological sciences. These experiences will significantly advance the education, research training and personal development of these student participants, who are young people that have the potential to achieve distinction in their academic fields, as well as become outstanding leaders in their careers and professions. In addition, the Foundation’s expectation is that the Beckman Scholars Program will add significant stature and stimulate greater awareness of the importance of providing quality undergraduate research opportunities at our nation’s universities and colleges.

To the Foundation’s knowledge, the sustained, in-depth undergraduate research experiences and comprehensive faculty mentoring, which the Beckman Scholars Program will provide, are not offered by any other program in the country in terms of program scope, content and level of scholarship funding ($13,700 for two ten-week summers of full-time research and $5,600 for ten hours per week of research during the intervening academic year). Also, the Beckman Scholars Annual Research Symposium is distinctive and provides an enriched capstone learning and developmental experience for the students.

Beckman Scholars Program Application Invitations

The Foundation reviewed program information for approximately 798 institutions across the country. In addition to the 26 institutions that received 2006 and 2007 Beckman Scholars Program Awards and were not eligible for 2008 awards, the Foundation identified 152 other colleges and universities which demonstrated important commitments to quality undergraduate research programs in chemistry, biochemistry and the biological sciences.

Invitations were extended to universities and colleges based on the following factors: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Support; NIH Academic Research Enhancement Awards; National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Awards; various NSF Undergraduate Research Awards; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Grants; Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation grants; Research Corporation Cottrell College Science Awards; American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Awards; and, active chemistry and biological sciences participation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research annual meetings (NCUR).

A 2008 Beckman Scholars Program announcement, including the university and college presidents, were emailed in May and late July 2007 to the 194 institutions. The application deadline was October 1, 2007.

Using Carnegie Classifications, the distribution of invited institutions was: 88 Research Universities; 24 Doctoral Universities; 34 Master’s I Universities; and 48 Baccalaureate I Colleges. The geographic distribution included institutions in 43 states and the District of Columbia. There were 23 in New York; 19 in California ; 15 in Massachusetts; 14 in Pennsylvania; 9 in Michigan; 8 in Ohio; 7 in Texas and Wisconsin; 6 in Illinois; 5 in Washington; 4 each in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and Virginia; 3 each in Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Tennessee and Utah; 2 each in Arkansas, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, North Dakota and the District of Columbia; 1 each in Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Advisory Panel

Over 20 candidates were considered for appointment to the 2008 Beckman Scholars Program Advisory Panel. Twelve outstanding professors were asked to serve on the panel. Their qualifications included recognized teaching excellence, strong scholarship in terms of publications in refereed journals, active mentorship experience, commitment to undergraduates and their research activities (including significant numbers of undergraduate co-authors in their publications), educational credentials, academic honors and awards, and diversity of home institutions and academic emphases.

Preliminary and Final Reviews

Seventy-one applications were received. Using evaluation criteria the Foundation provided in the Beckman Scholars Program Announcement, each application was independently reviewed by three panelists who were members of one of four sub-groups. The result was the identification of 35 institutions as finalists.

Six members of the advisory panel independently reviewed each finalist application. These six panelists had not served on the three-member preliminary review sub-panel for the institution being considered. Overall, each finalist application was considered by nine panel members in the preliminary and final review processes, with nine written reviews provided for each institution.

Evaluation Criteria and Recommendations

The following criteria were considered by the panel members in their evaluation of the preliminary and final reviews:

• Institution’s historical and current commitment to quality undergraduate research programs in chemistry, biochemistry and the biological and medical sciences.

• Institution’s recent admission record of undergraduate students to quality graduate and professional schools for its chemistry, biochemistry, biological and medical sciences, along with information about graduate pre-doctoral fellowship awards.

• Baccalaureate institution as a source of chemistry, biochemistry, biological and medical sciences Ph.D.s and M.D.s.

• Educational credentials and scholarly accomplishments of proposed faculty mentors. Evidenced by post-2002 publications in refereed research journals, receipt and magnitude of nationally competitive funding to support research activities, and teaching/research excellence awards and honors.

• Undergraduate research mentor experience of participating faculty. Records of academic unit(s) for undergraduates as co-authors of refereed published faculty research.

Adequate criteria of proposed student evaluation and selection procedures to affirm that students who possess intellect, oral and written communication skills, as well as personal character to become potential outstanding leaders in their ultimate careers and professions, will be considered for a Beckman Scholars award.

• Quality of academic unit(s)’ plan for nurturing Beckman Scholars as they progressively develop their research knowledge, skills and abilities, emphasizing the student as a focal point of research activities vs. supporting role duties (i.e., collaborator vs. support technician).

• Academic unit(s) level(s) of external support (federal agencies, private foundations and industry) for faculty research activities, as well as the institution’s internal operational and financial support for research activities which include Beckman Scholars participation.

• Institution’s proposed program for Beckman Scholars personal development, including mentoring, advisement, career planning assistance and distinctive educational enrichment programs.

The Foundation asked the panel to place special emphasis on the Scholar selection process, the degree of responsibility the student personally will have for his/her project(s), the quality of the academic unit(s)’ research programs, the degree of interaction between the student and the research mentor and the distinctiveness of institutional educational enrichment programs focused on Beckman Scholars. Oral and written communication skills were also to be strongly emphasized in Scholar selection procedures.

On February 11, 2008 the Beckman Scholars Executive Committee gathered at The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering in Irvine, California. The group was asked to narrow the 35 finalists down to approximately 14 universities and colleges to be considered for 2008 Beckman Scholars Program Institutional Awards.

After considering recommendations of the Advisory Panel, the Beckman Foundation Board of Directors selected the following 15 institutions and programs to receive 2008 Beckman Scholars Awards:

BACCALAUREATE I Institutions

Bates College – Lewiston, ME
Biology, Chemistry and Neuroscience

Calvin College – Grand Rapids, MI
Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Haverford College – Haverford, PA
Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Psychology

Hope College – Holland, MI
Biology & Chemistry

Lewis & Clark College – Portland, OR
Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry/Molecular Biology

Middlebury College – Middlebury, VT
Chemistry & Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry

DOCTORAL I Institution

Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff, AZ
Biology, Chemistry and Applied Science

RESEARCH II Institution

University of Delaware – Newark, DE
Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry

RESEARCH I Institutions

Boston University – Boston, MA
Biology, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering

Georgetown University – Washington, DC
Biology & Chemistry

Georgia Institute of Technology – Atlanta, GA
Chemistry & Biochemistry, Biology and Biomedical Engineering

Indiana University – Bloomington, IN
Psychological & Brain Sciences, Biology and Chemistry

University of Kentucky– Lexington, KY
College of Arts & Sciences; College of Agriculture; College of Engineering

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, NC
Biology, Chemistry, Physics & Astronomy

Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN
Biological Sciences and Chemistry

At these 15 institutions, 76 undergraduate students will be selected as Beckman Scholars.

The 2008 Beckman Scholars Program Award recipients were contacted by email on March 14, 2008.

Questions regarding the Beckman Scholars Program may be addressed to Ms. Jacqueline Dorrance, Executive Director of the Foundation.

Beckman Scholars Program Institutional Awards to Date

Amherst College (2006 – 2008)
Arizona State University (2001 – 2003), (2007 – 2009)
Bates College (2008 – 2010)
Boston College (2001 – 2003), (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
Boston University (1999 – 2000), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007), (2008 - 2010)
Bowdoin College (2005 – 2007)
California Institute of Technology (1998 – 1999), (2001 – 2003)
California State University, Fullerton (1999 – 2000)
California State University, Long Beach (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005), (2006 – 2008)
California State University, Los Angeles (1998 – 1999), (2000 – 2001), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007)
Calvin College (2008 – 2010)
Carleton College (1998 – 1999)
Carnegie Mellon University (1998 – 1999), (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005), (2006 – 2008)
College of William and Mary (1998 – 1999), (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005), (2006 – 2008)
Colorado State University (2001 – 2003), (2005 – 2007)
Dartmouth College (1999 – 2000), (2001 – 2003), (2006 – 2008)
Dickinson College (2003 – 2005)
Duke University (2000 – 2001), (2002 – 2004), (2006 – 2008)
Franklin and Marshall College (1999 – 2000)
Furman University (1999 – 2000), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007)
Georgetown University (2008 – 2010)
Georgia Institute of Technology (2008 – 2010)
Harvey Mudd College (1999 – 2000), (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
Haverford College (1999 – 2000), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007), (2008 - 2010)
Hope College (1998 – 1999), (2000 – 2001), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007), (2008 - 2010)
Illinois State University (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005)
Indiana University (2001 – 2003), (2004 – 2006), (2008 - 2010)
Lewis & Clark College (2008 – 2010)
Macalester College (2003 – 2005), (2007 – 2009)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1998 – 1999)
Miami University (2003 – 2005), (2006 – 2008)
Middlebury College (2008 – 2010)
Montana State University (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
New York University (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005), (2006 – 2008)
North Carolina State University (2005 – 2007)
Northern Arizona University (2001 – 2003), (2004 – 2006), (2008 - 2010)
Northwestern University (1998 – 1999)
Oberlin College (2006 – 2008)
Occidental College (1998 – 1999), (2001 – 2003), (2007 – 2009)
Pennsylvania State University (1998 – 1999)
Pomona College (2001 – 2003), (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
Princeton University (2000 – 2001)
San Francisco State University (1998 – 1999), (2000 – 2001), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007)
Smith College (1999 – 2000), (2002 – 2004), (2006 – 2008)
Stanford University (1998 – 1999)
State University of New York, Stony Brook (1999 – 2000), (2006 – 2008)
Trinity University (Texas) (2000 – 2001), (2004 – 2006)
University of Arizona (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005), (2007 – 2009)
University of California, Berkeley (1998 – 1999), (2001 – 2003)
University of California, Irvine (1999 – 2000)
University of California, Los Angeles (1999 – 2000), (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007)
University of California, Santa Cruz (1999 – 2000)
University of California, San Diego (2000 – 2001), (2003 – 2005)
University of Chicago (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
University of Delaware (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007), (2008 - 2010)
University of Florida (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
University of Iowa (2000 – 2001)
University of Kentucky (2002 – 2004), (2005 – 2007), (2008 - 2010)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2003 – 2005)
University of Maryland, College Park (2007 – 2009)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst (1999 – 2000)
University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) (1998 – 1999), (2000 – 2001), (2005 – 2007)
University of Missouri, Columbia (1998 – 1999)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2008 – 2010)
University of Notre Dame (2001 – 2003)
University of Pittsburgh (1998-1999), (2001 – 2003), (2005 – 2007)
University of Richmond (2006 – 2008)
University of South Carolina (2003 – 2005)
University of Texas at Austin (1999-2000), (2001 – 2003), (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)
University of Utah (1998 -1999), (2000 -2001)
University of Washington (1998 -1999)
University of Wisconsin, Madison (2004 – 2006)
Vanderbilt University (2008 – 2010)
Washington University, St. Louis (2002 – 2004), (2006 – 2008)
Wellesley College (1998 -1999), (2000-2001), (2002 – 2004), (2007 – 2009)
Western Washington University (2003 – 2005)
William Marsh Rice University (1999 – 2000), (2004 – 2006)
Williams College (1998 -1999), (2000 -2001)
Yale University (1999 - 2000), (2001 – 2003), (2004 – 2006), (2007 – 2009)