The most pressing challenges of our time—from climate change to social equity, from public health crises to political polarization—need solutions rooted in deep, rigorous inquiry. For more than six decades, the University of Oregon’s Clark Honors College has supported world-class, student-led research to ensure that students have the resources, mentorship, and opportunities they need to ask—and critically answer—complex questions.
A gift to the CHC Thesis Research Fund is a direct investment in students who are already leading the charge to convert today's challenges into tomorrow's opportunities. Every dollar raised ensures these students can conduct meaningful original research that fulfills their academic potential, contributes meaningful insights to global conversations, and establishes the University of Oregon as a destination for those willing to do the work it takes to help build a better world.
CHC student research contributes to real world:
- A thesis on parking led to a career in city planning
- Research on soccer cleats for women created a career in athletics apparel
- Studying pollination opened up a career in science education
- Research on the Supreme Court’s shadow docket led a student to Harvard Law
- A thesis on the valuation of women's sports teams led to a job as a performance data analyst for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee
- Research on antibiotic resistance launched a career at a biotech drug discovery startup
Current student research topics:
- New heat training protocols for athletes
- Effective communication across political difference
- Habitat restoration and biodiversity
- Forest fire management
- Predicting the impact of climate change
- Creating a machine learning tool to measure habitat
- Training healthcare professionals on how best to serve neurodivergent children
- Helping lawyers to improve writing for pardon and clemency petitions
