New publication to bring disciplines together
James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal to be published 2009
Posted on February 25, 2008
Seniors Casey Boutwell and Laurence Lewis meet every Sunday night over a plate of half-priced appetizers at Applebees to discuss strategy. Their plan: to revolutionize JMU academics.
Boutwell and Lewis are the co-founders of the James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal. The first issue will be published in the spring of 2009. Student contributions, including research articles, research reports, review articles and feature articles will be accepted through fall 2008.
Boutwell and Lewis, both physics majors, initiated the program to bring together all disciplines of the JMU academic community, and foster a sense of unity they said has been lacking in the past.
“When I came up with the idea, I just thought that JMU focuses mostly on undergraduates and research is hugely emphasized,” Lewis said. “But the research community is so fragmented between departments. No one talks to each other. There are no symposiums to exchange ideas.”
He came up with the idea for the journal last July while doing research at Northwestern University on dark matter for his honors thesis. There he spoke with the managing editor of the university research journal.
“Laurence called me up over the summer and asked if I wanted to help him start an undergraduate research journal at JMU,” Boutwell said. “I said yes, and we started brainstorming right away.”
The journal will give contributors exposure to the peer review and publishing process, while promoting interdepartmental collaboration and the dissemination of intellectual ideas.
“[Contributors will] be creating a published work,” Lewis said. “This is work that goes out to the entire JMU community and to anyone who’s interested in it. This is definitely something they can include in their portfolio, which will add a lot of credit to their resume.”
Lewis and Boutwell formed partnerships with the Honors Program, University Studies, Technical and Scientific Communication, and the Writing Center.
“These guys basically appeared at my doorstep one day and said we have this idea and we’d like to invite you to join us and help out,” said Kurt Schick, director of the Writing Center. “They had already done a lot of work on it. They had the concept and an initial written proposal.”
The student’s excitement and determination was contagious. Schick climbed on board immediately.
“This idea contributes to the civic mission that is at the heart of JMU, to create educated and enlightened citizens,” Schick said.
Boutwell said involving Schick and the writing center will ensure the journal’s future.
“We’re designing the journal to be entirely student led,” he said. “We need continuity because we’re graduating soon.”
Schick has already been approached by two publishers asking the three to co-author book chapters outlining their ideas so other universities can use them in the future.
“The thing that’s been terrific about watching this project unfold and watching them lead it is that these two guys are really going to leave a lasting legacy here at James Madison,” Schick said.
The co-founders are currently searching for students to work on the journal. They want to ensure the survival of the project by hiring qualified and determined undergraduates to take over when they graduate in the spring.
“We’re at such a critical stage right now,” Boutwell said. “Laurence and I built the car. All we need is a driver.”
