The duties of being the interim director of undergraduate research is to encourage undergraduate students to do more research.

Griff Tester recently stepped in to fill the shoes as the interim director of undergraduate research. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology. Tester also has taught and continues to study a variety of subjects, such as housing discrimination and introduction to queer studies.

Tester will continue to teach while being the interim director of undergraduate research at CWU.

Tester earned a PhD and Master’s in Sociology from Ohio State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Akron.

Almost all faculty members at CWU have the aim of pushing their students to take advantage of furthering their education and to branch out from what they are used to; Tester is no different.

“I definitely believe in undergraduate research and creative activities and I want to support students and the university community with developing programs and encouraging students to get involved with research and creative activities,” Tester said.

Tester also plays a big role in the The Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). Source is a university-wide event that showcases all disciplines of research, scholarship and creative activities by undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff at CWU. It takes place May 15-17. During this time period students will be able to show off their research projects to the public.“It’s a big event for the office, it involves a lot of students, faculty and community and I think I’m looking forwards to that the most,” Tester said.  

Becoming the interim director of undergraduate studies while still being a faculty member in the Sociology Department, makes him a perfect fit for the job because of his prior knowledge.

“Most of my research involves students already, the experience I’ve had over the last five to eight years working with students on research projects,” Tester said.

Tester is planning on bringing all the knowledge to the interim director of undergraduate studies position from all of his years of teaching and helping undergraduate students become more successful with their research  interim director of undergraduate research.