For students looking to spend their summers conducting research at Binghamton University, funding is now only a click away.
The Summer Scholars and Artists Program, organized by the Office of the Provost, aims to encourage and support undergraduate research on campus across all disciplines. The 20 students selected to participate this summer will spend eight weeks researching full-time with a faculty member.
However, this year, the students will also be crowdfunding, or soliciting small donations from a large online audience using social networking and digital media.
This summer’s projects are already funded by the provost, but the students are now crowdfunding for future years. Each student is aiming to raise $3,000 more than the $3,000 they are given for research.
Ashley Serbonich, the assistant to the director of external scholarships, fellowships and awards, is in charge of the program and said it has come a long way since its inception when there were only two participants. According to her, they plan on expanding it in the coming years so that more students can take advantage of the opportunity.
“We have feedback that we get both from the participants of the program and faculty members,” Serbonich said. “All of them have been very positive and saying how much of a learning experience the program has been for them.”
For some, the program offers an opportunity to explore future career options and interests. Jon Mermelstein, a senior majoring in history, is studying the economic, political and social development of Mesopotamia and the Arab Gulf as it relates to new oil operations.
“I am reaching the point where I am realizing that it is time to shape a vision of what my post-college life will be,” he said. “Spending eight weeks conducting historical research will be valuable in determining whether or not I will apply to history graduate school.”
Greg Delviscio, the associate vice president of communications and marketing at BU, helped with website creation, program promotion and crowdfunding. He said that after looking into different companies, he realized it would be more cost-effective for the University to create its own crowdfunding website. The page contains information about the current students in the program and allows people to donate money.
“It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of some crowd funding sites, but it has a lot,” Delviscio wrote in an email. “The hope is to build a culture of student and alumni giving to build a stronger Binghamton University.”
Crowdfunding is a new method for the University, but Delviscio said that the number of people visiting the website and donating is increasing due to the project’s social media popularity.
“I believe that the program is going to continue to grow,” Serbonich said. “I think the crowd funding program is going to help with that, because that goes into the fund for future summer scholars and writers.”
Jaineba Chang, a junior majoring in English, is enrolled in the program. She is writing a novel titled “Tallawah,” which will explore the Jamaican cultural view of post-colonialism. According to Chang, the program offers its members unprecedented opportunities.
“It is literally funding dreams,” Chang said. “It could get people’s feet in the doors that they want to get into.”