UNC Greensboro’s Thomas Undergraduate Research Expo took place on April 19th, which included honoring the faculty mentors who have helped and inspired students along the way, engaging them in real-world scholarship and helping them fine-tune their research skills. For the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, faculty members were honored in three categories: non-tenure track, pre-tenure, tenured.
Congratulations to Dr. Aileen Reid, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Educational Research Methodology (ERM) Department, who has received the non-tenure track award this year!
Dr. Aileen Reid approaches research, teaching, and mentoring through the lens of her lived experiences, her commitment to social justice, and her desire to transform the educational research and policy landscape. Her current research centers on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education as it relates to faculty, first-generation students and students from low SES backgrounds, and STEM education. Dr. Reid teaches classes on research methodology, assessment and program evaluation, and she co-directs the UNCG STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Laboratory (SPEL), a subunit of the Office of Assessment Evaluation and Research Services (OAERS).
Under her guidance, undergraduate students investigate the impact of efforts to broaden participation of underrepresented and minoritized groups in STEM. Over the past two years, she has worked with six undergraduate psychology students on nine research and evaluations of STEM education projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). In her lab, undergraduate students are mentored by graduate students in qualitative and quantitative research and other technical skills, and in co-authoring technical evaluation reports. Undergraduate students also participate in weekly professional development on diversity, equity, and inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice. In 2020, one of her mentoring contributions was to help prepare undergraduate and graduate students for the North Carolina Association for Research in Education (NCARE) 2020 conference in Greensboro.
“Dr. Reid’s deep commitment to professionalism, excellent interpersonal skills, resourcefulness, pleasantness, and ability to communicate with students from diverse backgrounds kept students grounded and focused throughout the preparatory process for the NCARE 2020 conference presentation. It was my first time presenting and I ultimately felt prepared, due in part to the mentorship from Dr. Reid… She works hard to balance a student-centered approach which is responsive towards building interests, skillset, peer support and celebrating successes of undergraduate students under her tutelage on the one hand, and her supervisory role of graduate assistants and teaching assistants on different projects within SPEL. Dr. Reid creates opportunities for her undergraduate students to assume leadership roles on assigned project teams including creating interview protocols, evaluation surveys, and uploading them in UNCG Qualtrics, transcriptions of focus group data, making simple statistical tables, and analyses, and writing evaluation and research memos.”
-Sharon Ladokun ’20
“When I first interviewed to join SPEL, I was a freshman with very little research experience. Despite my lack of experience with the process of evaluation and research, Dr. Reid was always kind and extended whatever knowledge and resources that I needed. From my very first day in the lab, she expressed great interest in fostering and developing the skills needed for my future career. With Dr. Reid’s mentorship, I have expanded my knowledge of the process of program evaluation and research. I now have the skills to conduct a proper literature review, fill out observation reports, and to collect and analyze data that I have obtained through procedures such as interviews. My time with Dr. Reid has given me many of the tools I will need as I pursue my aspiration of becoming an industrial-organizational psychologist. Dr. Reid’s kindness has been the true highlight of my experience as her mentee. Initially, being the youngest and most inexperienced person in our lab was highly intimidating. Regardless, Dr. Reid has always created an environment where I did not have to be afraid to share my lack of knowledge but instead encouraged me to ask questions and to grow. Her kindness has truly helped me grow more confident in my abilities and embrace the potential that I have. I firmly believe that you will not find another person like Dr. Reid who is welcoming and willing to help those who are as inexperienced as I was… She has left a very special mark on me during my time as an undergraduate student and I know she will continue to do so for many others.”
-Caraline Malloy ’23
Read more about this year’s Thomas Undergraduate Research Awards here.
