Marc Lucht to lead college's Undergraduate Research Institute
Marc Lucht, visiting assistant professor of philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been appointed director of the college’s Undergraduate Research Institute.
Lucht, who had been interim director of the institute since July 2013, will continue to oversee and support the college’s student research, supervise student editors of its undergraduate research journal Philologia, coordinate student exchange programs with schools in Morocco and Turkey, and work with the Office of First Year Experience to coordinate the college’s efforts to optimize the involvement of freshman and transfer students.
“I am thrilled to be afforded this opportunity to contribute to such essential parts of the university’s educational goals as are undergraduate research and international student exchanges,” Lucht said.
The Undergraduate Research Institute supports work that helps students better understand and contribute to the university’s core mission of discovering and disseminating knowledge. It also brings faculty and students together by providing resources for collaboration.
“Our students experience the rewards of designing a project, making discoveries, and then sharing their findings,” Lucht said. “The institute provides opportunities for students to actively participate in the life of their chosen discipline, and it also plays a key role in preparing students to be responsible global citizens ready to engage critically with a diverse global society.”
Previously, Lucht served as coordinator of academic programs at the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech. The center, established in 2008, builds interdisciplinary partnerships to foster creativity in the study and practice of violence prevention. Lucht designed and teaches the center’s advanced seminar in peace studies.
Lucht came to Virginia Tech in 2010 from Alvernia University, where he was an assistant professor of philosophy. Previously he held teaching positions at Kenyon College, the University of Maine, Rocky Mountain College, and Emory University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1999. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University.
