Month: March 2018

Good news: Two newly revised internal funding programs are open for applications from CLA faculty!

The Center for the Humanities and the College of Liberal Arts are starting an exciting new partnership. Together with the CLA Office of the Dean and the Schools in CLA, the partnership is re-launching two internal funding opportunities available to CLA faculty.

1. The Research Awards Program

The first is a newly revised program called the Center for the Humanities and the College of Liberal Arts Research Awards program.

The primary intent of the Research Awards program is to advance creative or scholarly activities in the Humanities and the Humanistic Sciences.

Awards are made to tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term faculty members on regular appointments. The standard award is $4,000. In extraordinary circumstances, proposals up to $8,000 may be considered.

If you need summer support to finish a writing project, to develop a survey, or to conduct research, you should submit an application.

Depending on the number of submissions, the program intends to fund around 10 projects.  Last year, 8 projects were funded to faculty from 7 different disciplines, ranging from creative writing to sociology, from art to communication research and psychology. The results of these projects led to journal publications, finalized manuscripts, art shows, research development, grant submissions and additional funding. The Research Award funds make opportunities happen for faculty and their students, and for the college and university.

The 2018 proposal submission and project schedule:

• Solicitation opens Monday, April 2.
• Solicitation closes Friday, April 27.
• Proposal review period ends Monday, May 7.
• Funding decisions announced Monday, May 7.
• Successful projects begin June 1, 2018.
• Project report due March 1, 2019.
• Successful projects completed no later than June 1, 2019.

Contact your school directors or visit the CLA Research Website for the application materials.

2. Publishing Support and Special Travel Grants program

The second, newly revised program is the Center for the Humanities and College of Liberal Arts Faculty Excellence Publishing Support and Special Travel Grant.

These small grants are open for application year round or until the funds are depleted and are intended to offset costs for time-sensitive research and scholarship needs. Click on the above links to learn more about the programs and how to apply.

Past Projects

To learn more about past projects for the Research Awards Program and for the Publishing Support and Travel Grants programs,  see recent posts here on the Liberal Arts Research in Action blog: 2016-2017 &  2017-2018.  The Publication and Travel programs were new just last year, and it is great to see them both continue.

Whether the Research Awards program or the Publication or Travel Grants, these funds make so much possible for faculty. I am working on a blog entry that details some key metrics.

-EWD

It’s been almost a year since my last post about the 2016 CLA Research Awards Program. I have been meaning to post about the 2017 projects and I am happy to have a chance to write about the opportunities these small grants make, and to let you know about the future of this internal funding program.

What are they?

As stated on the CLA Research website, the awards are primarily intended to assist faculty members in the initiation of new creative or scholarly activities and for projects that will result in further external funding, or improve the position of the faculty member in applying for funding.  Furthermore, the project must culminate in a concrete result (a peer-reviewed journal article submitted for publication, a performance, a professional exhibition, a grant proposal).  And moreover, preference is given to projects that enhance the status and visibility of the College and the University. The program helps highlight the research and scholarship efforts of our fellow faculty members. Because at the end of the day, there’s actually quite a lot of liberal arts research happening here at OSU.

Impacts of the 2016 Awards

The funded projects produced a plethora of publications, data sets, models, conference presentations, and quite a few of them led to additional funding applications and some even received additional funding.  I am working on a list of metrics to share the impacts of these awards, but the short of it is, it is amazing to see the reach of these small grants.

2017 CLA Research Awards

In 2017, we received eleven applications.  After a review by a four-member committee, eight proposals were selected for funding.

School of Arts and Communication

• Shelley Jordon, $4,000 for support to create a site-specific, installation piece at Fordham University in New York City, called, Still Streaming
• Joshua Reeves, $4,000 for writing time and research on the use of Military Artificial Intelligence
• Kerry Skarbakka, $4,000 for support to create art about the socio-political phenomenon of the angry white male
• Jason Fick, $4,000 for support to create interactive music and software for Baroque flute and computer

School of Psychological Sciences

• Kathleen Bogart, $4,000 for research on the social and psychological support networks for adults with rare disorders

School of Public Policy

• Rican Vue, $4,000 for research on how social networks of Southeast Asian-American community college students
• Ana Spalding, $5,000 for research on the human dimension of fisheries policy in Panama

School of Writing, Literature, and Film

• Wayne Harrison, $5,000 for support to write his novel in progress Seasons of Doubt

CLA Supplemental Research Fund

Thanks to some careful planning, the CLA Research Program Manager was able to use some of the Research Awards funds to pilot a new program called the CLA Supplemental Research Fund. These funds helped faculty offset the costs for time-sensitive research and scholarship needs.

The Research Program Manager recognized that the need for travel and publication support was often unexpected. Invitations to conferences can come with a great cost, and participation can often lead to opportunities that greatly benefit the individual faculty member as well as the School and College.  Below is the list of faculty who received supplemental funds, as well as a brief description of their activity.

School of Arts and Communication

• Wesley Brewer, $500 for travel to conference on music education in Boston,  MA
• Julie Green, $500 for travel to visit galleries in Los Angeles, CA
• Kerry Skarbakka, $500 for travel to Photographic Education Conference in Philadelphia, PA
• Jason Fick, $1,500 for travel to Stockholm, Sweden to present at the Art of Recording conference
• Kirsi Peltomäki. $500 for publication support for her forthcoming book from MIT Press, Public Knowledge: Selected Writings by Michael Asher.

School of Public Policy

• Ana Spalding, $1,500 for travel to Kuching, Malaysia to present at the International Marine Congress meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology

School of Language, Culture, and Society

• Daniel Lopez-Cevallos, $500 for travel to Atlanta, GA to present at the American Public Health Association meeting
• Melissa Cheyney, $500 for travel between Corvallis and Eugene to the Global Health Biomarker Lab to complete analysis.

I have two more Supplemental Research projects forthcoming, which will use up the last of the remaining funds. I was happy that I was able to stretch these Supplemental Research Funds over the 2018 academic year. And I am happy to report that this program will continue next year.

Exciting Developments for the Award Program

With the onset of spring, the status of the forthcoming 2018-2019 CLA Research Awards program was a bit uncertain.  But I am happy to report that both programs, the Research Awards and the Supplemental Awards programs will both be made available.  Specifics are still being finalized, so stand by for further information.  Check the CLA Research website or contact the CLA Research Program Manager for more information.