Two Georgia Southern Professors Elected to Governing Council of National Undergraduate Research Organization

July 11, 2014

Associate Professor Kymberly Drawdy, Ph.D., who works in the College of Education’s Department of Teaching and Learning, and Assistant Professor Laurie Gould, who works in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences’ Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, have both been appointed to serve as councilors on the Social Sciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Founded in 1978, CUR is a national organization of individual and institutional members representing over 900 colleges and universities created to support and promote high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. CUR Councilors are elected to three-year terms and attend yearly business meetings. Each Councilor serves on a committee to network with other individuals in their discipline and to help shape the future of CUR and undergraduate research.

 Kymberly Drawdy

A faculty member for 10 years, Drawdy is one of Georgia Southern’s College of Education representatives to the University Council on Undergraduate Research. She serves as the program coordinator for the Master’s of Education in curriculum and instruction and accomplished teaching degree program. In addition, she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in special education, curriculum and instruction. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Drawdy earned her doctoral degree in Interdisciplinary Teacher Education and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Alabama, Huntsville. “I am glad to be a part of a national organization that promotes undergraduate research,” said Drawdy.

Laurie Gould

A faculty member for four years, Gould teaches a variety of courses in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology including Comparative World Justice Systems, Corrections and Research Methods. Her areas of expertise include comparative penology, gender issues in punishment and state failure. She has published more than a dozen peer reviewed journal articles and one book. A native of Titusville, Florida, Gould earned her Master of Science degree in criminal justice and her doctoral degree in public affairs with an emphasis in criminal justice. In addition, she serves as the Social Sciences Division editor for the CUR Quarterly, a peer reviewed journal. “I was absolutely thrilled to be elected to the governing council for CUR,” said Gould. “Under the leadership of Karin Scarpinato, Georgia Southern University’s CUR has done a phenomenal job of promoting undergraduate research on campus. It is both a privilege and an honor to represent Georgia Southern at the national level.”