Mitzi Lewis Midwestern State University mitzi.lewis@mwsu.edu Dale B. McDonald Midwestern State University dale.mcdonald@mwsu.edu Jane Owen Midwestern State University jane.owen@mwsu.edu Magaly Rincón-Zachary Midwestern State University magaly.rincon@mwsu.edu Brandon Smith Brevard College brandon.smith@brevard.edu “During my month long experience, I faced setbacks and overcame them with the help of faculty and students I would have otherwise never met. I can honestly say that I have gained a great appreciation for the work they do, and I hope that they learned from me at least as much as I learned from them. This program is excellent because it proves that when people get together, problems get solved.” – Engineering student Zach Evetts Background and Research Framework More than a decade ago, the Boyer Commission’s report on reinventing undergraduate education highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary inquiry, stating that “collaborative learning experiences provide alternative means to share…the skills of analysis, evaluation, and synthesis [that] will become the hallmarks of a good education, just as absorption of a body of knowledge once was” (Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University, 1998, p. 11). In 2003, the National Research Council built on the work in the Boyer Commission’s report and other researchers to suggest that interdisciplinary education is “in the best interests of both undergraduates and their professors” (p. 22) and should be “developed and reinforced so that interdisciplinary thinking and work become second nature” (p. 2-3). Research shows that student engagement is one of the best predictors of success in college. The benefits of student engagement We Grow UGROW A Model for Undergraduate Research at a Public Liberal Arts University