Academic Matchmaking
An innovative program launched in spring 2008 pairs Bentley undergraduates and professors as research partners in the arts and sciences – with positive results for all concerned. Projects have run the gamut from Irish immigration in the 1840s to mathematical modeling of fish mortality.
Sponsored through the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences, the program was the brainchild of the center’s former director, Cyrus Veeser.
“Admission is competitive on both sides,” the associate professor of history says of the program. “Faculty like having good students to work with, and students want these kinds of opportunities. Even if they’re planning business careers, students benefit from developing their basic research skills.”
The program has sought faculty proposals for the assistantships in the past two semesters. The Valente Center staff winnows the list to about eight projects and sends descriptions to all Bentley undergraduates, with an invitation to submit their academic résumé and a statement of qualifications. Those selected receive $10 per hour for their work, up to a maximum 20 hours per week.
Inspiration Strikes
The inspiration for the research assistantship program came through Veeser’s participation in the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. The organization includes a range of academic institutions, from large research-driven universities to smaller liberal arts colleges. Members share strategies for promoting interdisciplinary arts and sciences research within their institutions.
Bentley was the only business school in the consortium, Veeser reports. “Everyone was looking for ideas to attract non-liberal-arts majors, which is something we do all the time,” he says. “So we had something to offer the group.”
The exchange of ideas benefited Bentley as well. A program at Haverford College served as a model for the research assistantship initiative here. “They were delighted at our interest,” says Veeser. “They were happy to share materials on how they solicited proposals.”
Model Behavior
The research assistantship program has attracted broad participation across the arts and sciences. For example, Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences Mihaela Predescu engaged an assistant to help in her collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health.
The work would expose students to applied mathematics, she says. “I thought it was a good opportunity for a student to participate in a project of this depth.”
Using data supplied by the Harvard researchers, Predescu is creating computer models to show how certain fish and insect populations are affected when key environmental variables change. Her research assistant, Jonathan Jenq ’10, uses Predescu’s models to create simulations of species population changes. He inputs equations that represent different variables, and documents changes in the results. The Harvard researchers will ultimately use Predescu’s analysis to develop policy recommendations for issues like mosquito control.
“It’s very different from anything I’ve done before,” says Jenq, a Mathematical Sciences major selected for his aptitude with differential equations. “The project introduces me to research that’s happening right now in mathematics, and shows how complicated it really is.”
Learning in Tandem
Another research team focused on films instead of fish.
Ariel Warsawski ’09 worked with Assistant Professor of English Heide Solbrig to study industrial films of the 1940s and 1950s. Solbrig’s research centers on Henry Strauss, who made numerous films in the genre for companies such as AT&T, General Electric, Dupont, and Ford. Media and Culture major Warsawski, an aspiring film producer, moved the project ahead with crucial legwork: contacting company archivists to obtain films, converting films to digital files, and seeking copyright information.
“Heide is great,” Warsawski says. “I’ve learned so much about how and where to find information and how to get things done. And even though she’s faculty, I realize it’s a learning process for her, too.”
Stepping even further back in time – to the 1840s – Doug Logan ’09 worked with writer-in-residence Pierce Butler to mine original sources for information about life during the Irish famine. Butler had completed a rough draft of his historical novel about the period when he tapped the research assistantship program for help filling in the details.
“He asked me to look for turns of phrase; descriptions of smells, sights and sounds; any kind of sensory data,” explains Logan, who uncovered primary sources, such as letters from immigrants, to help Butler bring the period to life for readers.
“I hadn’t done long-term research before, and I thought it might be tedious,” admits the Philosophy major, who plans to enroll in graduate school upon earning his Bentley degree. “With this project, I found that I’m good at it – and that gave me confidence.”
Other projects to win assistantships:
• Media coverage of international human trafficking, with Professor of Government Christine Williams
• The role of new media in the 2008 presidential election, with Assistant Professor of International Studies Jeff Gulati
• The paleontologic climate, with Professor of Natural and Applied Sciences P. Thompson Davis
• The relationship between money and happiness, with Assistant Professor of English Lawrence Weinstein
• Political party research in Latin America and Spain, with Assistant Professor of International Studies Bonny Field
Looking Ahead
Associate Professor of History Christopher Beneke has picked up the program’s reins since becoming Valente Center director earlier this year. He hopes to attract additional funding to expand the program, perhaps through yearlong assistantships that give participants a greater opportunity to develop a solid working relationship.
“We’ve had very positive feedback,” Beneke says. “Students’ enthusiasm is very telling. They understand how important research skills are, and they’re eager for a chance to develop them.”