What years did you participate in UROP? 

2003-2004

What UROP Program(s) were you a part of? (UROP, UROP in Residence (MRC, MRADS), Research Scholars, Changing Gears, Summer Fellowships, etc.)

Traditional First-Year UROP

 

What made you choose UROP?

I was recruited by a history professor, and I jumped at the chance when I learned I could be paid for learning and reading history!

What do you think you have learned from your UROP experience?

I learned a ton from UROP. I learned a lot about the research process, how to work with faculty, and how to manage time. I’m a professor now at a research university (like Michigan is!) and UROP helped provide that foundation.

What is the extent to which you have kept in contact with your Research Mentor?

Not much, I ended up studying in a completely different discipline (Public Administration/Economics). But Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof’s impact is not lost on me.

How did your UROP experience shape or inform the next steps you took in your academic and professional journey?

UROP helped tremendously. Through UROP, I learned what research professors do, and that I could learn and share what I learn with my community and society at large for a living. Through UROP, I was introduced to research, my life’s work.

But I learned even more! I met some tremendous people, some of whom with which I am still friends. The reading I did taught me how to read like a scientist, looking for arguments and critiquing data and not digesting text.

What advice would you give to a current UROP student?

Have fun and really explore the work! This is a time of discovery in your life that will be hard to get back again. If you learn you enjoy this work, you can do research for a living!

What are some recent publications or accomplishments that you are proud of?

Last year, I published an article that was covered by the Wall Street Journal. People that donate to nonprofits typically use a particular financial metric to let them know whether or not a nonprofit is trustworthy. This article pointed out problems with this financial metric, and offered two new ones to use.

Also, I was very recently awarded tenure at my university!

Is there any other advice you would like to impart to current or future UROP students?

Many folks don’t know that, at research universities like Michigan, the first job of many of your professors is research. Being a researcher is amazing. I wake up every day, study the topics that interest me anyway, and I get to share it with other researchers and my students!