May 20, 2015
Timothy Sprague, 2015-2016 UROP Scholar
Department of Communication & Media Studies
University of Southern Maine
Dear Timothy,
Congratulations again on receiving a UROP award for 2015-2016!
You will be awarded a stipend of $3000 for the academic year 2015-2016 for your project. The stipend will be paid
in equal biweekly installments on student payroll throughout the academic year (September to May). You do NOT
need to enter hours in MaineStreet for your UROP pay. You will also receive up to $500, based on your submitted
expense budget. A total of $400 is available for travel to be used for field-work or to present at a conference.
Please work through your department’s Administrative Assistant for your expenses and travel.
The UROP Fellowship is selective, and your project was chosen because of its potential to make a valuable
contribution to your field of study. Importantly, you also were awarded the fellowship because you were able to
articulate how important the work will be for your learning process, and as a way to further your goals for the
future. As a scholarly fellowship the program has, by definition, the benefits of social support, shared goals of
academic and career advancement, and establishment of a community of scholars. This letter is to help orient you
to the benefits and responsibilities of the program—and to make clear the expectations we have for you. The items
below in bold are mandatory aspects of the program and are required for participation in the Program and
continued payment of the stipend.
Sharing with the USM Community--Dissemination of scholarship
•
Thinking Matters research conference. Your UROP study culminates with an oral presentation at the
Thinking Matters research conference in April of 2016. Each student will present a 15 minute talk + 5 minutes
Q&A. This is a requirement of the program, and necessitates timely preparation of materials and formal
submission of an abstract to the Thinking Matters selection committee. As a group, we will plan for this event
during our regular meetings (see below) with planning sessions, practice talks, and feedback and support.
•
The UROP Poster Symposium. Prior to Thinking Matters, (traditionally during the week following February
vacation) we hold a poster symposium in the Woodbury Campus Center amphitheater. This event showcases
your work in a visual format for other USM students to see. It is an important way to make visible the work
coming out of UROP and to inspire new students to consider applying to the program. We will provide
guidance and support during the year to help plan and format your poster.
Engagement in the UROP Community. This is the very heart of the UROP program and is essential to our goal
of creating a rich and supportive learning community.
•
Meeting attendance. UROP fellows are required to attend all scheduled meetings, except for cases of weather
cancellations or illness. This form of engagement is critical because each scholar’s presence is a way for
mutual support and guidance to occur. Meetings are held once per month, and each UROP scholar is required
to attend. With the exception of illness or family emergency, two missed meetings, at any point in the program,
will be interpreted as your wish to withdraw from the program. In such a case participation and stipend
payments will cease.
We will meet as a group on the first Friday of each month, from September through December, 2015. Spring
semester meeting dates will be established after students have signed up for spring classes, although we do know
that Thinking Matters will be held either April 22, or April 29. These meeting dates below were established on the
basis of your enrollments for Fall 2015 to minimize any schedule conflicts. If your course or work schedule
partially overlaps with any of these dates/times, it is permissible to attend for the time you can, either arriving late,
or leaving early, but in the case of pre-existing overlaps we ask that once per month each UROP fellow does his or
her very best to make adjustments to other commitments.
UROP meeting dates and times:
Friday, September 4
Friday, October 2
Friday, November 6
Friday, December 4
12:15 – 2:15pm
12:15 – 2:15pm
12:15 – 2:15pm
12:15 – 2:15pm
•
Timely Communication. A significant portion of the program communication is electronic. We will be using
your USM email account to notify you of program-related events, meeting agendas and other important news
about the program (thus USM’s email policy, http://usm.maine.edu/doit/email-communication-policy, is in
force). I will make it very clear (in each subject line of emails) whether I need a response from you and/or your
faculty supervisor. When a response is requested, we need to hear from you within 24 hours. This system is
needed because significant expense is involved in food orders and conference room bookings; but it is also
important to be sure that no one is “falling through the cracks” by not receiving, or not acknowledging,
important communications. You are also required to maintain consistent contact (preferably at least weekly)
with your faculty mentor. This is a joint responsibility, to be negotiated together. The mode and frequency of
communication is up to you, but it is essential that there is consistency and mutual accountability.
•
Additional support systems for your work. Your UROP faculty mentor is the main source of information about
research issues, from acquiring supplies or equipment, to planning analysis designs. However, there is also the
broader USM research community, with many people who can be very helpful. To begin with, as the UROP
Director, I am the liaison between students, faculty and administrative staff within the university. You can also
approach me with questions about research-related regulation, ethical guidelines, time-management and
personnel questions. You also have support for financial and administrative questions from Trish Bola,
Administrative and Financial Manager, Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy ([email protected]).
After very carefully considering your availability for UROP meetings, and the aforementioned events and
expectations, an important next step is to contact Trish Bola, Cutler Institute, by email within the next week to
either accept or decline this award. This message is being sent by email only.
We are all very impressed with your research plans and very much look forward to sharing and celebrating what
you learn as you move forward with your ideas.
Best wishes,
R. Bruce Thompson, Ph.D., Director
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Associate Professor of Psychology
cc: Dr. Lenny Shedletsky