ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of emerging priorities of the academy that have aligned to bolster the rationale for undergraduate research programs and to generate support for their implementation. The benefits of undergraduate research in preparing future scholars are largely attributable to the student's interaction with the faculty mentor. The underlying cultural shift has manifested itself in both the content of the undergraduate curriculum and the social structures of the overall campus environment. The mentoring relationship has been repeatedly cited in the literature as a fundamental element of the undergraduate research experience. The promotion of student engagement has frequently been recognized as requiring a broad institutional effort that touches all aspects of undergraduate students' lives. Building a culture of undergraduate research on American college and university campuses necessitates reconsideration of institutional policies that reinforce a compartmentalization of faculty responsibilities.
