Dear Alumni and Friends of MRADS,

I now enter my second year as Director of the Michigan Research and Discovery Scholars. As I settle into the role and shape the program, I would like to share my vision for the future.

To achieve that, we need students who understand their role in research, who know how to communicate effectively about their work, and who have the professional skills necessary to make a change. Towards that end, I have identified three major goals for our program: Encouraging reflexive research practices, improving student communication skills, and providing professional development opportunities. 


Reflexive Research Practices

In MRADS, reflexivity is recognized as critical to ethical and effective research. Reflexivity refers to the researcher’s ability to account for their own biases and assumptions throughout the research process. It also asks researchers to consider their relationship to those impacted by research or its outputs. To achieve this, the MRADS coursework provides structured opportunities to hone reflexivity.

In class, students practice identifying common cognitive biases and ethical dilemmas that researchers might encounter. Following this, they take on the challenge of designing a research study that anticipates these potential biases and ensures ethical compliance.

Beyond this, we invite students to engage in thematic discussions about their mentored research project. These discussions encourage students to reflect on their research experiences, understanding how their perspective, background, and experiences shape both their approach to research and their interactions with others.

Lecture Notes from ALA 104 on ethical norms of research

 

Improving Communication Skills

Successful research requires the ability to communicate why the research is important and what the impacts of the research are to various stakeholder audiences. Communication matters when soliciting funding, ensuring public trust and support, and when convincing policymakers to make changes based on the outputs of research. 

To ensure that students have the communication skills necessary to be a successful researcher, MRADS is launching a new targeted course this winter, called “Critical Approaches to Research and Communication”. In this course, students will learn and practice how to communicate their research findings to different audiences (the public, policymakers, grant funders) and in different formats. 

To encourage real-world communication practice, we plan to bring approximately 20% of our students to the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium to present their research. This symposium will provide students the opportunity to present at a regional conference and to network with peers from other top-tier Midwest universities like Northwestern and University of Chicago.

We encourage donations to our strategic fund to enable more students to attend! Students will also put their new skills on display at the MRADS Annual Symposium hosted April 23, 2026 in the Michigan Union (6-8 PM). This event is open to the public, and we welcome your attendance..  


Professional Development Opportunities

Another key skill for researchers is the ability to skilfully navigate professional contexts– whether working on research teams, seeking new collaborators/co-authors, or articulating one’s research experience to others. Our MRADS staff carefully plans opportunities for our students to develop these skills through in-house workshops, course assignments, and strategic partnerships. 

For example, this year we have launched a professional development workshop series, hosted by Associate Director, Dr. Janae’ Collier. This workshop, offered monthly, teaches students valuable skills like project management and professional networking. Moreover, our students self-select professional development opportunities as part of their MRADS coursework. So far, students have taken workshops on R (the statistical language), completed human subjects research training, and attended career mentoring, just to name a few examples. 

 

Dr. Janae' Collier's workshop taught students about ethical AI for research and work.

 

Our aim, across these opportunities, is for students to receive skills that will serve them well as they make an impact through their research and in their future careers. 

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Thank you to our friends and alumni for your support as we work towards these goals. We invite you to stay connected and engaged—whether by attending our symposium, sharing your insights, or mentoring our students. Together, we are cultivating a community that is committed to excellence in research and discovery.


With Gratitude,

Ragan Glover, Ph.D. Director of MRADS