A showcase of undergraduate discovery and creativity

Undergraduate research journal re-launches this fall

Share this story

Undergraduate research spanning Virginia Commonwealth University takes center stage in Auctus, The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship at VCU, which debuts its new format this month.

The online publication was developed by undergraduate students at VCU, together with a team of faculty advisers, to showcase the diverse offerings and excellence in undergraduate research, creativity and scholarship at VCU.

We want people to see that research has many faces. Not all research is done in a lab, and not all research can be displayed in a traditional ink-on-paper format.

The journal, geared to students, features articles and multimedia submissions of undergraduate research, scholarly work and literature reviews from the humanities, science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts.

“Many times when students think about research, they think about the students in STEM-related fields – the lab coats, the microscopes and all of that,” said Jacqueline Smith-Mason, Ph.D., assistant dean for the Honors College at VCU, who serves as a faculty adviser to the student team. “But we really want students to think about the research that they’re doing in the humanities and the social sciences and the arts, and begin to look at how different disciplines can begin to work together as one research team.”

Faculty adviser Mary Boyes, assistant professor of writing in the Honors College, serves as the point faculty member on the journal for editorial issues.

“Because VCU has nationally recognized programs in the arts, humanities, social sciences and STEM, Auctus is able to feature undergraduate work beyond the traditional researched article,” Boyes said.

“Our creative section focuses on a blend of research and creativity that often culminates in works of art. We plan to publish everything from musical scores to audio files of radio broadcasts to gallery installations to interactive advertising. And that’s just the creative section. All of our sections are open to inventive and new ways of interpreting research.”

Smith-Mason said the undergraduate research journal supports student excellence and research – two critical themes to the university’s strategic plan, Quest for Distinction.

“The journal will make for a good platform to showcase what is being done by undergraduates and share that work with the entire university,” Smith-Mason said. “Additionally, it will help raise awareness outside the university. For example, when talking to prospective students and parents, the Office of Admissions can showcase what our students are doing, not only in the classroom but outside the classroom, and make some of those connections.”

The journal is divided into five distinct sections: Creative Works, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM and News & Noteworthy, so that readers can gain insight into a broad range of topics and disciplines. A section for research resources offers information on internships, fellowships, scholarships and more.

Student submissions are taken on a rolling basis from VCU undergraduates up to two years after graduation.

To grow, to learn, to expand knowledge
The idea for a student-driven research journal at VCU originated four years ago with Christopher Pang, a former undergraduate biology researcher in the Honors College and a Goldwater Scholar. He was the founding editor-in-chief of Auctus.

Auctus, which is derived from Latin, means “to grow,” “to learn” or “to expand knowledge,” and imparts Pang’s vision for the journal and what he wanted student contributors and readers to get out of it – the growth that one sees from personal development  and through shared knowledge.

Although the journal lapsed after its initial launch in 2009, it was never forgotten. In the spring of 2013, a new student team came together to begin planning for the re-launch of the publication.

“The students involved with this are very committed … and are the driving force behind this publication,” said Herb Hill, director for the VCU Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and an adviser to the student team. “About a year ago, they had come across the original Auctus publication and came to me. They wanted it to be student-run, student-staffed. I couldn’t agree with them more.”

Hill said that he sees no limit to what the students – both leading the journal efforts and submitting their work – will gain through experience with the journal. Beyond the academic skills of critical thinking, time management, leadership and cooperative learning, Hill hopes they will walk away with some life skills, too.

“I hope they get a sense of just how much they are capable of doing themselves. And not necessarily just their future potential – but what they are capable of doing right now, immediately, today,” he said.

“I think a lot of students, especially on the undergraduate level, think this is all about preparing for the future or the next step, which it is, but it’s really important for them to realize that there is no better time for them to get involved now – to begin striking out in their own ways and to get creative and innovative – and start making their goals reality. Even if their goals begin to change over the next few years, the journal is a real opportunity for these students to take ownership and leadership now. This group really stepped up.”

That strong show of student leadership, together with a network of dedicated faculty advisers, launched the initiative into hyperdrive.

Last spring, students were invited to apply to join the staff of Auctus, and one of the initial information meetings was attended by 50 to 60 eager and willing students who wanted to help build a new undergraduate journal starting from the ground up.

After several months of intensive work, the team has designed a website that is modern and clean, but interactive and accessible, to convey the content in an engaging fashion to its diverse audience.

The student team also has developed a handbook to guide the organization into the future. The handbook includes guidelines for how the submission process works, a style guide for writing and a step-by-step of how to update the new website.

For Lauren Colie, the revival of the undergraduate research journal was an initiative that sparked her interest from the start. She received support through a fellowship from the Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program (HSURP) to work on the organization of the journal this past summer. Colie’s mentors for the fellowship include Boyes, Hill and Liz Johns, Teaching and Learning Librarian, VCU Libraries.

“VCU is uniquely fortunate to combine the cutting-edge research from the VCU Medical Center with creative investigation from our top-ranked School of the Arts. Auctus is a way to bring together the best of this work in one package,” Colie said.

“We want non-VCU visitors to get a sense of what VCU stands for, and what we do here. We want people to see that research has many faces. Not all research is done in a lab, and not all research can be displayed in a traditional ink-on-paper format.”

Colie currently serves as the managing editor of Auctus, and she is responsible for acting as a liaison between the staff, journal editor-in-chief Wahab Syed and the faculty advisers. She also keeps the student submissions organized and tracks them throughout the submission process.

“Through Auctus, we want to represent and highlight the diversity and scholarly excellence of the VCU student community,” said Colie, who is pursuing dual degrees in English and mass communications (print/online journalism) with a minor in writing.

Naturally, we want to give students a place to share their work. For many, applying to Auctus will be an introduction to the publication process, and we hope that will provide some with a confidence boost to submit to other journals, too.”

An interactive platform
Along with changing how readers view the journal content, the student team has also updated how they can interact with it.

Working closely with Colie this past summer was Dylan Halpern, a graphic design major and Honors College student, who serves as the web designer for Auctus. Halpern created the new site from scratch, guided by his own research of online journals and feedback from the student and faculty team. Halpern’s efforts were supported through an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program summer fellowship.

During the summer months, Colie prepared the journal’s social media efforts so that readers will be able to Pin, Tweet and Share the articles found on Auctus.

“We want to offer students a platform to validate their extraordinary achievements through publication, and we want to create a way to show others a glimpse of the talent at VCU,” said Colie.

“Additionally, we have an entirely new journal section devoted to news stories about research at VCU … we are a hub of research news. We want students to come to us and keep coming to us as a way to stay plugged in to research and opportunities at VCU.”

Readers can access research opportunities at VCU – including every internship, fellowship, conference and symposium related to research and creativity – through a searchable database on the journal’s website.

“We hope a central location for these opportunities will make searching easier and will encourage students to get involved with research,” Colie said.

Students submitting work maintain all copyright and can publish the work elsewhere. Currently, the journal is only accepting submissions from VCU students.

In addition to Boyes, Hill, Johns and Smith-Mason, Faye Prichard, director of writing in the Honors College, also serves as a faculty adviser for Auctus.

Submission guidelines are available at: http://www.auctus.vcu.edu/

For more information and for free subscription to the journal, visit http://www.auctus.vcu.edu/. The official email for Auctus is auctus@vcu.edu.

 


Subscribe for free to the weekly VCU News email newsletter at http://newsletter.news.vcu.edu/ and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox every Thursday. To learn more about research taking place at VCU, subscribe to its research blog, Across the Spectrum at http://www.spectrum.vcu.edu/