Advancing Undergraduate Research: Marketing, Communications, and Fundraising

Advancing Undergraduate Research is designed to share successful models and strategies for promoting and funding undergraduate research programs. This is the first book to address the growth and improvement of undergraduate research programs through advancement activities—marketing, communications and fundraising. As such, it is a critical addition to the library of the advancement professional, the undergraduate research director, and faculty mentors—in fact, anyone who wishes to advocate for the power of research in an undergraduate’s education. Marketing, communications, and fundraising, referred to collectively as strategic communications are all tools that help deliver the message to campus constituents, as well as to external audiences such as institutional donors, private foundations, government agencies, and state and federal legislators—that undergraduate research is a high-impact educational practice that can transform students’ lives. Each of the three sections of Advancing Undergraduate Research focuses on key principles of advancement philosophy: how to market undergraduate research; how to engage in strategic communications; and how to raise funds and also serve as stewards of those funds for donors. Examples of best practices are included, gleaned from dozens of institutions, to illuminate the concepts and principles introduced in the volume. Advice from savvy undergraduate research directors, as well as professionals in advancement, is incorporated to help readers formulate and customize their own advancement agendas