“While our campus does a wonderful job of providing many curricular, cocurricular, and hands-on opportunities for students who may be interested in building a competitive resume toward an external award, no office has existed to serve as a hub for faculty connections and student engagement around prestigious external scholarship application,” Kristy Sheeler, dean of the Honors College, said.
Sheeler explained that the office was established to assist in creating a cohesive experience for students in their work and goals.
“We saw that we needed some way to pull together all of the great experiences that students are doing with faculty and in the community—around their goals, around the students’ goals—and connect the student experience to the external scholarships,” Sheeler said.
Faculty Fellows Jennifer Guiliano from the School of Liberal Arts and Kathleen Marrs from the School of Science will lead the office.
Guiliano recognizes the importance of students having opportunities that allow for professional and personal development.
“Our goal is to ensure that all IU Indianapolis students have access to faculty, staff, and alumni who can help them build their most competitive application for external grants and scholarships,” Guiliano said. “These types of experiences are so important for students as they develop their expertise and diverse worldviews.”
Marrs echoed Guiliano, noting her own excitement for the office to aid students in reaching their highest potential and in building leadership qualities.
“By connecting our students with prestigious external scholarship opportunities and experiences early in their academic journey, we aim to build on our culture of excellence to help students achieve their academic goals and become leaders in their field, benefiting our entire campus community,” Marrs said.
The office will soon launch a search for a full-time scholar support specialist who will work with Sheeler in building the office's presence.
Though the office falls under Honors College management, it will aim to serve all students on campus.
“We will start by reaching out to students in existing research and service programs, offering workshops to discuss scholarship opportunities, and providing ways that students can get involved in meaningful activities to build their resumes,” Sheeler said.
In terms of collaboration, the office will work with the Institute for Engaged Learning to identify hands-on community service and research opportunities, and with the Office of International Affairs on finding study-abroad focused scholarships.
Sheeler also believes that collaborating with academic schools, faculty, and staff will provide students with networking opportunities that will help them develop competitive applications for national scholarships.
“They’re [academic schools, faculty, and staff] the ones who are doing the work in their research labs, or in their community connections where we can place students,” Sheeler said.
In terms of how the office will impact students and faculty, Sheeler highlighted the office’s role in connection with the IU 2030 Strategic Plan.
“We hope the office will increase the visibility of prestigious external scholarships to students and the value of engaging in hands-on learning toward application development, as well as enhance the incentives for faculty of mentoring and supporting students in these experiences,” Sheeler said. “Ultimately the office will contribute to faculty research and student success metrics identified in the IU 2030 Strategic Plan, especially when it comes to career readiness and engaged learning.”
