A challenge that faculty members at predominantly undergraduate institutions and those at larger colleges and universities often share is establishing effective and sustainable research collaborations that engage both them and their students in successful scholarly enterprises. The existence of the appropriate “intellectual ferment” within a department, a research facility, a laboratory, or an institution is a critical prerequisite to the conduct of quality research. There must be a culture of intellectual inquiry and critique, and an expectation of investigation, discovery, and debate on matters of intellectual importance. Research cultures ultimately develop within communities of peers or near-peers; while faculty at research institutions are often leaders in such communities, they should not be the only contributing members.