Reissue: A Decade of FUN: The First Ten Years of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience

• Published in: Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education 2021, Vol.20 (1), p.E4-E11
• Main Authors: Ramirez, Julio J, Normansell, Larry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1544-2896; 1544-2896

The year 2021 marks the 30 Anniversary of the founding of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN). Within the first ten years of FUN's existence, the organization grew from a group of 67 individuals committed to undergraduate education in the neurosciences to over 300 members. FUN established productive partnerships with the Society for Neuroscience and the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs. FUN launched numerous projects to enhance the experience of undergraduates in the classroom and in the laboratory. FUN established a Travel Award Program that enabled undergraduates to attend the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience to present research posters on the floor of the meeting. Subsequently, undergraduate students were invited to present posters at the annual FUN Social. The listserv FUNnet was created to enable communication among FUN members. Workshops designed to enhance curricular development and laboratory-based experiences were begun in 1995 and continued every three years thereafter. Conversations to create regional conferences similar to the NorthEast Under/graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) conference were facilitated at the 2001 FUN Workshop. Efforts to improve National Institutes of Health funding for undergraduate colleges and universities were launched. Because of the dedication of FUN members, the first ten years of FUN's existence were filled with energetic innovations that significantly enhanced the education of undergraduate neuroscience students.