Courtney Smith of Gorham Receives Grant to do Specialized Research with a Saint Michael's College Professor this Summer

2011 Jul 25

Courtney Smith, daughter of Jonathan and Cynthia Smith of Gorham, was one of 40 Saint Michael's College students to be awarded grants to do research with a professor this summer. Smith, a senior education and religious studies double major, graduated from Gorham High School before coming to Saint Michael's, which is located in Burlington, Vt., one of the top 10 college towns in America.

Smith is carrying out a project titled "Creating interpretive signage to educate visitors to the Teaching Gardens"

"Undergraduate research is a natural extension of some of Saint Michael's College's most strongly-held beliefs as an educational institution," said Dr. Karen Talentino, SMC Vice President for Academic Affairs. "We believe that close student-faculty interaction facilitates learning and student development," said Dr. Talentino, herself a biologist.

The research happening at the college ranges from lab science, history, social sicence data collecting and analysis, environmental research with the Vermont EPSCoR Streams project, surveying of Vermont's workforce in an effort to increase the effectiveness of the Workforce Investment Act. Funding has been provided by the college's summer fellowship program, the Vermont Genetics Network, the National Science Foundation, SMC alumni funds for research, and other sources.

Value of research in a liberal arts education

"We expect our faculty to pursue scholarly and research activities in order to inform their teaching and to contribute to their disciplines," Dr. Talentino explained. "We try to facilitate the growth of each student in all dimensions, and to prepare them to be lifelong learners." She said working with faculty, who are themselves researchers, is one of the best experiences a liberal arts education provides to students.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu. Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns. Identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 373 Colleges, and included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges, Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings.