Jan 07, 2015 11:12 AM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Clark Atlanta University in Georgia received a $100,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a new initiative to explore incorporating research in the undergraduate curriculum. 

The planning grant, which will run from December 2014 through November 2015, will involve the university's social science and humanities faculty, as well as faculty in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Clark Atlanta University's Undergraduate Research Initiative aims to ensure an even richer academic experience for Clark Atlanta University's more than 2,500 undergraduate students by pairing participating freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors with faculty mentors who will guide their research projects.

In addition to formal presentations at an annual research symposium, the students' works also will be published in a special annual edition of the Phylon, the social sciences research journal founded and originally published by the institution's iconic former faculty member and administrator W.E.B. Du Bois.

"The expected outcome of this grant will be to implement a model framework for undergraduate student research that is tailored to the unique challenges and needs of Clark Atlanta University," Obie Clayton,  Asa Ware Endowed Professor of Sociology, said in a statement . "We are looking forward to a productive year of rich, provocative and insightful conversations with other academic leaders from across the nation as we launch efforts to determine and refine best practices in this realm."

The focus of the research initiative is to design a campus-wide program of undergraduate research experiences to enhance the learning potential of students. 

"This important and timely grant from the Mellon Foundation will enhance the learning potential of CAU students by infusing research into the undergraduate experience beginning in the first year and through to graduation," President Carlton E. Brown said. "We are grateful to the Mellon Foundation for its ongoing support Clark Atlanta University and its confidence in us to develop new mechanisms to infuse research into the curriculum across all disciplines of the university."

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