University Honors

UHON Student Research Assistants

Because UTC is a strong undergraduate institution with a relatively small graduate student population, outstanding undergraduate students have opportunities that would be reserved for graduate students at larger research universities, such as participating in faculty research, helping organize academic conferences, assisting in editing professional journals, developing new lab experiments or teaching materials under faculty direction, and much more. The UHON Student Assistant Program was developed to facilitate just such beneficial faculty/student partnerships. The program began in August 2001 with funding from the UC Foundation Student Development Committee.

All UTC full-time faculty are eligible to apply for a UHON Student Assistant at the beginning of the fall semester. After faculty applications are received, all UHON students in good standing are invited to apply for positions that interest them. Students are then matched with faculty based on expressed interest and available funding. Positions may be one semester or year-long. Students earn $10.00 per hour up to a maximum of $1000 per semester.

Student assistants for the Fall 2012-13 semester are:

Feedback

Jenny Denver, Psychology Student says:

"The UHON Student Assistant Program offered an excellent opportunity to . . . gain research experience, faculty contacts and greater insight into my field. It would be unfair to say the program is simply "worthwhile"--it is an exceptional program that should become a fixture of the University Honors Program."

Nick Honerkamp, Professor of Anthropology, says:

"What I got out of the program was a student who had the flexibility, work ethic, and intelligence to tackle anything I asked for, from processing metal artifacts from an electrolysis tank, to running down obscure web sites useful in my research, to proofreading some of my own writing. He saved me a huge amount of time."

• Kayla DeLong, who will assist Professor Mohammad Ahmadi (Business Management) with the revision of a statistics study guide and workbook.
• Lisa Wheatley, who will assist Kristin Labs (International Programs) with development and promotion of international studies options for UTC students.
  
• Charlotte Hill, who will assist Professor Lucien Ellington (Asia Program) with research and provide administrative support for teacher workshops conducted by the UTC Asia Program. She will also work on research, editing, and other tasks related to the publication of the journal, Education About Asia.
• Adrienne Welch, who will work with Professor Andrew Bailey (HHP) to conduct a pilot study of community responses to a five-year regional Parks and Recreation plan, helping to guide long-range development plans.
• Emily Jordan, who will assist Professor Janetta Bradley (School of Education) in developing pedagogical resources for teaching using The Hunger Games.
• Peter Hagemeyer, who will help Bengt Carlson (QEP/Assistant Provost's Office) to develop the Beyond the Classroom component of the THink Achieve Quality Enhancement Plan, by identifying and tracking experiential learning opportunities on campus.
• Paul Honen, who will assist Professor Stylianos Chatzmanolis (Biological and Environmental Sciences) with a study of the evolutionary relationships of a group of rove beetles.
• Zeke Sudbury, who will work with Professor Stephen Craven to develop hands-on projects to excite middle and high school students about STEM studies.
• Hanna Handley, who will help Professor Nancy Fell (Physical Therapy) in her collaborative project with the department of Computer Science and Siskin Hospital, to explore the uses of the iPhone and iTouch to remotely gather and interpret data on human movement.
• Erin Myers, who will assist Professor Loren Hayes (Biological and Environmental Sciences) with the development of a database on the neurobiological attributes of social animals, and a study of prairie vole communal rearing.
• Erin Skelley, who will help Professor Gaye Jeffers with dramaturgical research for a production of Will Eno's play Middletown, including explorations of Native American (Apache, Sioux) chant, dance, and spectacle.
• Jenny Edwards, who will help Professor Elizabeth O'Brien (School of Education) with research on Loving Kindness Meditation as a component of counseling for women transitioning from prison to society in a chemical dependency treatment center.
• Miranda Hill, who will work with Professor Verbie Prevost (English) to update and expand the database for the Tennessee Writers Project - an online listing of Tennessee writers, including biographies, publications, and bibliographies.
• Rebecca Sadler, who will assist Professor Cathy Scott (Social Work) in researching the role and plight of the informal caregiver providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease.
• Colleen Sauser, who will help Professor Jane Womack (ESL Institute) with planning and implementing activities for students in the English as a Second Language Institute.
  

Full-time faculty members from all disciplines are encouraged to apply for assistants. Applications for student assistants will be distributed via email to all faculty prior to the start of the fall and spring terms.