Lee University recently launched the Work-study Research Assistant Program (WRAP) to provide research experience to undergraduates through faculty mentorship. 

The purpose of WRAP is to introduce first- and second-year students to undergraduate research with the guidance of a faculty member. Faculty and students are encouraged to apply through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS) to participate in this engaging and educational opportunity. Faculty research proposals are selected by a faculty-led committee. Then, faculty of approved research projects select eligible student applicants to participate. 

“WRAP provides a high-impact practice for students to begin developing foundational academic skills and research training,” said Dr. Kevin Ung, director of OURS, which houses WRAP. “Many top-tier institutions provide first-year research experiences to create an environment for critical thinking, effective communication, and creative inquiry, and Lee is no exception. In 2020, the administration approved WRAP in recognition of student-centric faculty research activity through scientific inquiry and creative endeavors. Now in its third year, the addition of collaborative learning groups, regular WRAP researcher gatherings, and peer mentors has perpetuated a robust climate for student learning.” 

Among the eight faculty currently working with WRAP students are Dr. Jason Schmurr, associate professor of mathematics, and Dr. Ana Shippey, associate professor of political science. 

“The WRAP program is a great way for students to gain experience doing real research alongside faculty,” said Schmurr. “Students acquire valuable academic skills, and faculty get real support in pursuing their research work. I have worked with several students over the life of the program. Right now, Jessica Williams is working with me.” 

Williams is doing research with Schmurr that involves a statistical analysis of different sports and competitions to analyze variability in win probability. Their project incorporates machine learning and Python coding. 

“WRAP has helped me gain personal and professional skills I would not have otherwise obtained,” said Williams. “These include networking, research experience, and collaboration with other disciplines. Instead of thinking about topics separately, I’m learning how to connect everything I have learned in my discipline and problem-solve more effectively.” 

Shippey’s research is within the field of international security, particularly in the impact of changes in power amongst the domestic elite groups upon the likelihood of international conflict initiation. 

“My WRAP students are helping me put together a dataset that captures changes in domestic power within different countries over several years, whether each of those countries did or did not initiate an international conflict in that year, and a host of control variables, that is, other factors that also affect the likelihood of conflict initiation,” said Shippey. 

Abdiel Medina and Ian Milen, Shippey’s WRAP students, have been working with her to use statistical analysis to test her hypothesis. 

“By working with Dr. Shippey, I’ve been learning about domestic affairs from her perspective as a political science professor,” said Medina. “WRAP has taught me not to be intimidated with the concept of research and that it can be fascinating to explore an area of knowledge that I’m unfamiliar with.” 

Other research pairings include Maggie Possinger, working with Assistant Professor and Distance Learning Librarian Julie Burchfield on a LibGuide usability study; Grayce Richards, working with Professor of Humanities Dr. Aaron Johnson on analyzing various themes and topics within Cyril of Alexandria’s “Against Julian the Emperor;” Ethan Voraritskul, working with Professor of Mathematics Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis on the renovation of Calculus I through partnering with science faculty; Vu Tran, Gracie Webb, and Bethany Willis, working with Professor of Music Theory Dr. Austin Patty on research into effective practicing in music; Sarah Harvey, working with Associate Professor of Systematic Theology Dr. Chris Stephenson on research into Pentecostal liturgical theology; and Jasia Brooks, working with Associate Professor of Humanities Dr. Jared Wielfaert on examining the manufacturing of female sanctity in thirteenth-century France through the lives of Mastidia, Maura, and Helen of Troyes. 

For more information about WRAP, contact Ung at [email protected]. 

For more information about OURS, visit Lee’s OURS.