Facilitating student research opportunities at JMU

Student research is a signature element of the Madison Experience, unifying academic rigor with professionalization and tailored guidance from experienced disciplinary advisers. Research, Economic Development and Innovation recently spoke with Leslie Pusey, Director of the Office of Fellowships and Awards (OFA),

about the Office of Student Awards, Initiatives, and Research (STAIR) and the Office of Fellowships & Awards (OFA), and the opportunities these offices facilitate for students.

These responses have been edited for length and clarity.

REDI: Introduce us to STAIR and OFA.

STAIR: STAIR serves as JMU's hub for student research, scholarly engagement, intellectual growth and professional development. STAIR is designed to support students as they explore their academic interests, pursue meaningful research and creative activities, and prepare for graduate study, careers, and prestigious national and international opportunities. Through its various programs and resources, STAIR helps students transform classroom learning into hands-on experiences that deepen their knowledge and broaden their future possibilities. STAIR is the larger umbrella of the following offices and programs: OFA, Student Creative Activities and Research (S-CAR), and several other student-focused initiatives that connect students with mentorship, funding, research experiences and recognition opportunities.

OFA: We offer advising services to students interested in applying for nationally competitive (external) awards, supporting activities such as study abroad, language immersion, teaching English abroad, pursuing research, attending graduate school and more. These opportunities are funded by external foundations that have certain missions/visions. Some are partially funded by the federal government, and others are private organizations, research centers, educational and cultural institutions, etc. We use the terms “awards, fellowships, and scholarships” interchangeably because the foundations that manage these opportunities name and refer to their programs/opportunities as such. While these awards are available to students of all disciplines, they are distinguished from regular, tuition-based (internal) scholarships by their highly competitive nature, particular application components and benefits. Fellowships often fund a very specific activity proposed by the student or are “individual funding” opportunities that pay for students to participate in a predetermined program. Our office helps students identify the awards that best suit their goals and skill sets, write and polish their applications, and gather letters of recommendation and other supporting documents. Some awards that students may be familiar with include Fulbright, Gilman, Marshall, Rhodes, Goldwater and JET, to name a few.

REDI: Some Dukes may assume they need to be graduate students or have a certain GPA to engage in STAIR’s activities. Who is STAIR for, and how can they get involved?

STAIR: One misconception about STAIR is that its opportunities are only for students with perfect GPAs or those planning to pursue advanced degrees. In reality, STAIR is for all JMU students who are interested in growing academically, professionally or personally. Whether a student is a first-year Duke exploring research for the first time, an upper-level student looking for funding to present at a conference, or someone interested in external awards, there are opportunities available at every stage of the undergraduate experience. In fact, we have opportunities for graduate students and recent alums can receive support from OFA in pursuit of post-graduate, nationally competitive opportunities.

Here are some specific ways a JMU student could get involved with STAIR: Apply for and participate in the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) Program, connecting with faculty mentors on research projects or creative scholarship; then explore the external fellowship opportunities and seek guidance for those applications (e.g., REUs (Research Experiences for Undergraduates), Boren, Fulbright Canada MITACS, PPIA-JSI, etc.) or they may look for conference presentation support for their research and professional development (travel grants or NCUR). The best first step is often simply reaching out to STAIR or exploring the office's website to discover which opportunities align with a student's interests and goals.

OFA: Because most fellowships are merit-based, they are, by nature, exclusive. Several foundations have specific missions/visions and values and therefore are looking for candidates who will advance those missions/visions and embrace those values. For example, the Rhodes Scholarship — the oldest and most prestigious of the “nationally-competitive award” opportunities — seeks candidates who have a minimum 3.7 GPA and demonstrate the following pillars: “literary and scholastic attainments, energy to use one's talents to the fullest, devotion to duty, and moral force of character and instincts to lead.” It’s the foundations that set the eligibility and criteria they want from applicants. 

In contrast, other awards do not have a minimum GPA requirement, as their mission/vision and values align with other attributes such as leadership, service, teaching, activism, community-building, ambassadorial potential, etc. Instead of academics alone, selection panels will look at applications holistically, weighing an applicant's participation in their communities on and off campus, demonstrated leadership capabilities, academic and professional accomplishments, and plans for the future. While maintaining a high GPA is a great way to show academic responsibility, GPA alone will not win the types of awards that we work with in our office.  It’s the foundations that set the eligibility and criteria they want. The best way for a student to prepare for these applications is to be well-rounded, taking on academic and professional opportunities for growth in the direction of their long-term goals. This is why OFA works with interested students to find “fit” when pursuing nationally competitive awards.

REDI: Since STAIR offers so many forms of professional development, should students prioritize certain opportunities or consider several at once? How do the various resources offered by STAIR work together?

STAIR: Rather than viewing STAIR's programs as separate opportunities, students should think of them as pieces of a larger developmental pathway. The office is intentionally structured so that students can enter at many different points and build experiences over time.

A student might begin with FYRE, where they gain their first exposure to research. From there, they could connect with faculty within the same department or continue work with their FYRE mentor and join a similar research or creative project. Similarly, once they’ve had a research experience, it’s a natural progression to look for external opportunities such as REUs, international undergraduate research programs or industry-related internships. As their work develops, they might present at a campus symposium, attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) or Network for Undergraduate Research in Virginia (NURVa), or receive support through travel grants to share their findings at disciplinary conferences. Later, those research experiences would strengthen applications for nationally competitive fellowships with OFA’s support, applications such as the Goldwater Scholarship for STEM research, or a Fulbright opportunity for international study, research or teaching.

In this way, STAIR helps students build a portfolio of experiences that reinforce one another. Research develops critical inquiry skills, conference presentations strengthen communication abilities, and fellowship applications help students articulate their goals and maximize the impact of those experiences.

OFA: When it comes to applying to competitive awards, it never hurts to submit a few applications and have a backup plan. Often, our students’ backup plans turn out better than they ever could have imagined. For example, a recent OFA student applied to at least four different competitive opportunities last year (her junior year) with the following results: received the Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious award that supports promising research scientists; was a semifinalist for DAAD-RISE, a summer research program in Germany; was offered a Fulbright Canada MITACS Research Internship opportunity, but declined the offer to accept an REU summer program at Princeton University. 

Similarly, this same OFA student had previously participated in STAIR programs — she was a 2024 FYRE participant, a two-time NCUR presenter, and has been actively involved in her academic department as well as campus leadership activities.

We always encourage students to cast a wide net but use a strong filter, meaning don’t overwhelm yourself by applying for everything; instead, be intentional and thoughtful about your options so that you can “catch” the best opportunity.

REDI: STAIR focuses on developing research opportunities for students; where do faculty members fit in?

STAIR: Faculty are at the heart of nearly every successful STAIR experience. While STAIR provides infrastructure, funding opportunities, advising and program coordination, faculty mentors help students transform ideas into meaningful scholarly and creative work. They introduce students to research questions, guide project development, teach research methods and offer invaluable professional mentorship.

Programs such as FYRE and other departmental opportunities depend on faculty members who invite students into their research and creative endeavors. Faculty also play a critical role in helping students prepare conference presentations, pursue graduate education, and become competitive candidates for fellowships and awards. All recipients of prestigious awards such as the Goldwater Scholarship, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program Scholarship and the first JMU recipient of the Charles B. Rangel Fellowship achieved success through close collaboration with dedicated faculty mentors.

Ultimately, STAIR creates the framework and opportunities, while faculty provide the mentorship and scholarly community that allow students to thrive. Together, they help students move from curiosity to discovery, and from discovery to impact.

OFA: Faculty members are a critical part of the ecosystem that supports successful fellowship applicants. Faculty often have the research opportunities and industry connections that allow students to begin building the experience and skills necessary to win these awards.  They also provide the kind of discipline-specific, academic insights previously unknown to a student, revealing the opportunities and realities within the disciplinary field. Additionally, nearly every award requires recommendation letters from someone invested in the applicant’s academic and professional success. Letters of recommendation from faculty confirm and amplify what a candidate has cited in their application materials; they provide insight into the applicant’s talents and character.

The Office of Fellowships & Awards loves faculty referrals and encouragement. OFA staff are happy to share opportunities in class meetings, department meetings/events, student organization meetings and more!

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To see more of what STAIR and OFA have to offer, check out these upcoming events:

FYRE & Undergraduate Research Symposium
Monday, October 19
Festival Ballroom
3:00-5:00 p.m.

Boren Awards Representative Visit & Info Sessions
Monday, November 9
Session times TBA