Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C.- Silvia Ronco, program director at Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), has been elected to serve on the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Executive Board. CUR, with its over 675 institutional members and more than 10,000 individual members, supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

CUR will benefit significantly from Ronco’s leadership. Her prior contributions to CUR’s governance, and her years of dedication to undergraduate research signify that she is well-prepared to service on the Executive Board. At RCSA, Silvia directs the Cottrell College Science Awards, Cottrell Scholar and Arizona Partners in Science programs. Early in her career she was the founding chair of the University of South Dakota’s undergraduate research council, a committee that was formed following attendance to the CUR institute on institutionalizing undergraduate research. In 2011-2013, Silvia served a term as a member of the CUR Executive Board and as the Chair of the Chemistry Division. She is currently an elected councilor for the CUR Chemistry Division and is serving a second term as councilor for the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Inorganic Chemistry. Ronco’s response to the news, “My involvement with the Council on Undergraduate Research has been the most important professional development activity in my career. Working with a diverse community of like-minded people who are passionate about providing a rich educational environment for undergraduates has allowed me to grow professionally and at a personal level. Through my work with the CUR EBoard, I will have the opportunity to use my broad professional expertise to impact the policies of this wonderful organization.”

In June, at the close of the 2014 CUR Annual Business Meeting, Dr. Ronco will begin her term as CUR Executive Board Representative.

##Council on Undergraduate Research: The Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org) supports faculty development for high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. Over 675 institutions and more than 10,000 individuals belong to CUR. CUR believes that the best way to capture student interest and create enthusiasm for a discipline is through research in close collaboration with faculty members.