SEPTEMBER 2021
We hope the new academic year is off to a great start, and we’re pleased to highlight the following accomplishments and updates in this edition! There are multiple funding opportunities detailed below as well as updates from various agencies. Please send any suggestions for future newsletters, questions or comments to grants@vassar.edu.
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Colin Echeverría Aitken, Assistant Professor of Biology, was awarded a supplementary grant to purchase a state-of-the-art multimodal imaging system for the interrogation of the molecular mechanics of translation initiation in support of his National Institutes of Health-funded project, "The Role of the mRNA-entry Channel Arm of eIF3 in mRNA Recruitment". Colin’s research promises to shed new light on the translation of genetic information by a molecular machine called the ribosome and the role this process plays in the development and progression of human cancers.
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Raquel Madrigal, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in American Studies: The Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston has selected Raquel’s manuscript proposal “Comparative Racializations in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Im/migrant Justice and Indigenous Struggles for Sovereignty” for its 2021 Andrés Torres Paper Series Award. A national committee of Latino scholars convened by the Gastón Institute selected her proposal, and the Institute awarded a grant for the preparation of her scholarly manuscript focused on the experience of Latinos, Latinas and Latinx. More information is available here.
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Colette Salyk, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, received a National Science Foundation grant for her project “RUI: Characterizing Inner Disks in the era of JWST and ALMA,” which aims to help answer the question: What chemical and physical conditions exist in protoplanetary disks, and how do these produce the diversity of planets we see today? Her research will comprehensively analyze existing CO spectra and provide higher-level data products for community use. The project will develop a small suite of user-friendly spectral analysis tools that will make it easier for Vassar undergraduates to dive into asking more substantial scientific questions in their work, and allow them to gain experience with both programming and statistics, in addition to astronomy. Colette’s project will also foster engagement with the local Poughkeepsie community through a series of events at our observatory that highlight interdisciplinary connections with astronomy.
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Erica Stein's first book, Seeing Symphonically: Avant-Garde Film, Urban Planning, and New York as Utopian Image, has just been published as part of the Horizons of Cinema series at SUNY Press. Seeing Symphonically shows how, as New York City was being reinvented through urban renewal projects, suburbanization, and public housing between 1939 and 1964, the New York avant-garde reinvented the city symphony, a modernist form that depicted the life of an urban environment through montage, optical effects, and street portraiture.
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The book documents how these New York symphonies subverted and critiqued urban redevelopment through their aesthetics, particularly their rhythms, and, through those same rhythms, envisioned a world in which urban inhabitants have the absolute right to remake the city according to their needs. "Seeing Symphonically is one of those books that needed to be written," notes Steven Jacobs, coeditor of The City Symphony Phenomenon. "It is...an important and long-awaited contribution to both film studies and urban studies."
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Jacqueline Villadsen, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, received National Science Foundation funding for “Collaborative Research: RUI: Star-Planet Interactions Around Low-mass Stars,” in collaboration with her colleague from at CU Boulder, Dr. Sebastian Pineda. During this three-year project, which will examine magnetic star-planet interactions from low-mass stars through interconnected observational and theoretical investigations, Jacqueline will lead the radio observations of star-planet interaction in known planetary systems, in collaboration with three undergraduate researchers.
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FROM THE OFFICE OF
THE DEAN OF THE FACULTY
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Small Faculty Conversation Grants are available for this academic year to support conversations about teaching or research that bring together faculty from different departments and multidisciplinary programs. Awards of up to $600 can be used to 1) support ongoing writing, research or accountability support groups, or teaching-discussions or course-planning, with funds applied to books, refreshments or modest honoraria for collaborating colleagues from another institution; or 2) support refreshments (or other material support) for a grouping of four faculty members who will visit each other’s classes, then gather to discuss the experience. Applications can be emailed to Katherine Hite, and questions can be directed to Katie or Maria Hantzopoulos.
National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity
With Vassar’s institutional membership in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), and your Vassar email address, you can sign up through their website and find all kinds of resources (bibliographies, webinars) related to your scholarship and teaching, as well as to strategies for advancing your academic careers. In particular, there is a 14-Day NCFDD Writing Challenge coming up for October 18-31st, and you can register on their website. There are 2 spots left for the NCFDD Faculty Success Program, with applications due September 24th!
Vassar’s Professional Editing Program
The Dean’s Office can offer a small number of faculty each year an opportunity to work one-on-one with professional editors, who can provide crucial assistance, such as helping scholars bounce ideas around and hone those ideas into succinct kernels of prose; assisting with things like crafting successful book proposals, and/or line/substantive editing. There is a rolling deadline to apply for professional editing assistance. Email applications to Katie Hite (kahite@vassar.edu), and feel free to contact her with any questions. To apply for the Professional Editing program, faculty should provide:
- a description of the proposed project of 300- 600 words that includes, for example, whether the project is an article, a dissertation to book, a manuscript already well-advanced, a manuscript requiring shortening or revision, or some other project, together with details about the content and form;
- the stage of the project, if not already covered in the description;
- the target audience;
- the proposed time-frame (i.e., 10 months from dissertation to manuscript).
Vassar’s Manuscript Review Sessions
This workshop is designed to provide helpful and timely feedback to faculty preparing monographs prior to submission for publication. The Dean’s office can support a small number of faculty members each year seeking concentrated, hands-on feedback for manuscripts in their final stages. This call is for applications from faculty members on continuing contracts across the campus who have a manuscript that is near completion and would benefit from intensive peer review and comment. The awards will cover modest honoraria for reviewers to read the manuscript prior to arrival, plus cover the external reviewers’ travel and an overnight accommodation. The grant will also cover one group lunch and dinner with the reviewers during their visit. There is a rolling deadline to apply for professional editing assistance. Email applications to Katie Hite (kahite@vassar.edu), and feel free to contact her with any questions. To apply, faculty should provide:
- a description of the project of no more than 600 words, including the state of completion of the manuscript in its current form and what the faculty member hopes to gain through the workshop;
- timeline of project;
- list of possible external and internal reviewers, with short rationales regarding why the applicant has selected particular reviewers;
- proposed timing of the workshop, to take place sometime between May’s commencement and late August (exceptions to this timing will be considered).
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EXTRAMURAL FUNDING HIGHLIGHTS
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Take a look at the National Endowment for the Humanities opportunities and deadlines in the coming months!
October 14
NEH Dialogues on the Experience of War
NEH’s Dialogues on the Experience of War program “supports the study and discussion of important humanities sources about war, in the belief that these sources can help U.S. military veterans and others think more deeply about the issues raised by war and military service. Project teams should include humanities scholars, military veterans, and individuals with relevant experience.” The application deadline is October 14, 2021 for grants of up to $100,000, which can support discussion programs and/or training for discussion leaders. More information is available here.
November
Washington Center for Equitable Growth
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth has an annual Request for Proposals, announced each fall. The 2021 Request for Proposals deadline has passed. Please check this space in early November 2021 for the next Request for Proposals. If you would like to receive notifications about the 2022 Request for Proposals, please click here.
November 11
NEH Fellowship Open Book Program
The NEH Fellowship Open Book Program “is a limited competition designed to make outstanding humanities books available to a wide audience. By taking advantage of low-cost “ebook” technology, the program will allow teachers, students, scholars, and the public to read humanities books that can be downloaded or redistributed for no charge.” This competition is open to publishers who have published within the last three years or will publish during the period of performance with research supported by a few specific NEH fellowship programs. The deadline for this application is November 11, 2021 for an award of a maximum of $5,500.
December 1
NEH Collaborative Research
The NEH Collaborative Research program “ aims to advance humanistic knowledge through sustained collaboration between two or more scholars” by funding “projects that propose diverse approaches to topics, incorporate multiple points of view, and explore new avenues of inquiry in the humanities.” Projects should result in “tangible and sustained outcomes” and should have a “humanistic research agenda.” The application deadline is December 1, 2021 for a maximum award amount of $250,000, depending on the funding category. More information is available here.
December 15
NEH Public Scholars
The NEH Public Scholars program “supports the creation of well-researched nonfiction books in the humanities written for the broad public” by “offering grants to individual authors for research, writing, travel, and other activities leading to publication.” This program encourages both academic and non academic writers along with independent writers, researchers, scholars, and journalists. The application deadline is on December 15, 2021 for a maximum monthly stipend of $5,000. More information is available here.
January 12
NEH Public Humanities Projects
The NEH Public Humanities Projects program “supports projects that bring the ideas of the humanities to life for general audiences through public programming.” Selected projects must “engage humanities scholarship to analyze significant themes in disciplines such as history, literature, ethics, and art history” and reach audiences outside of classroom settings with ideas accessible to the general public in an appealing format. The program supports projects in three categories and two funding levels. The application deadline is on January 12, 2022. More information is available here.
January 12
NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
The NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program helps “helps cultural institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities material” by “supporting sustainable conservation measures that mitigate deterioration, prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience” Institutions like “libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations” are all considered. The program supports projects at two funding levels. The application deadline is January 13, 2022.
January 13
NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
The NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions allows small and mid-sized institutions to “improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections.” The application deadline is January 13, 2022. More information is available here.
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ACADEMIC GRANTS
Academic grants are open to researchers affiliated with a U.S. university. The affiliated university must administer the grant.
Academic grants are typically in the $25,000 to $100,000 range over 1 to 3 years. We frequently partner with other foundations to support projects jointly or to share proposals that are not a fit for our grant program, but which may be of interest to other funders.
Equitable Growth is willing to fund a wide range of activities, including researcher salary and benefits, research assistance, data purchase, and costs associated with conducting experiments or participating in professional conferences. Our grants cannot cover indirect overhead.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for an academic grant, submit a letter of inquiry and abbreviated curriculum vitae (max five pages) using the online submission form.
Letters of inquiry are short descriptions of a research project. They should be approximately two pages (about 1,500 words) in length. Letters of inquiry that are more than 1,500 words will not be considered. While we do not want to be overly prescriptive, the word limit is designed to encourage concision and clarity.
Letters of inquiry must include:
· Problem addressed by the research
· Expected contribution to the literature
· Methodological approach, including data sources and research design
· Timeline for completion
We encourage applicants to consider policy implications. Development of new data sources is also of interest.
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CAREER ENHANCEMENT FELLOWSHIP
The Career Enhancement Fellowship Program seeks to increase the presence of minority junior faculty members and other faculty members committed to eradicating racial disparities in core fields in the arts and humanities. Deadline: Oct. 22, 2021 (Jr Faculty) | Nov. 5, 2021 (Adj Faculty)
Who should apply to the CE Junior Faculty Fellowship?
- Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Programs alumni
- Minority junior faculty: African Americans, Latinos and Latinas, Native Americans, and Native Alaskans
- Junior faculty with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities, breaking down stereotypes, and promoting cross-racial understanding in their university communities.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- At the time of application, considered by your institution to be in the third year of the tenure-track teaching appointment (the award is distributed in the fourth year of the tenure track);
- C&S understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted tenure clocks for many junior faculty and are aware of “stop the clock” situations. If you were currently in your third year on the tenure clock as of Fall 2020, but have been paused/stopped, please note that you will be able to apply this year (Fall 2021). You will be eligible as long as your institution acknowledges that you are in your third year.
- Teaching in one of the designated fields (see fields here), although interdisciplinary work will also be considered;
- Completed no more than two years on the tenure track at another institution prior to joining your current institution;
- Ability to accept the Career Enhancement Fellowship in the upcoming academic year. Please note that the Fellowship must be continuous; and
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States as of October 23, 2020 (include copy of green card if a permanent resident).
Who should apply to the CE Adjunct Faculty Fellowship?
- Mellon Mays undergraduate Fellowship Programs alumni
- Adjunct faculty in one of the designated fields (see fields here)
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States as of November 6, 2020 (include copy of green card if a permanent resident).
* ”Citizens & Scholars has its roots in the Woodrow Wilson Fellowships founded at Princeton University in 1945. The new name chosen in 2020 signifies a new chapter… “.
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EMERGING LEADERS AWARD
The Emerging Faculty Leaders Award offers a $17,500 stipend—$10,000 to be used for summer research support and $7,500 for research assistance during the academic year. Ten awards will be made in 2021-22. The deadline for all components of the application is December 1, 2021 at 5 pm EST.
Emerging Faculty Leaders may be working in any field of the humanities or social sciences—including, for example, history, sociology, anthropology, literature, art, gender studies, ethnic/diaspora studies, and related fields—with an emphasis on scholarly topics that relate to or provide context for the study of culture, equity, inclusion, civil rights, and education in the Americas.. Examples might include (but are certainly not limited to) changing perspectives on civil rights; legal, social, and organizational responses to social change (such as affirmative action or community organizing); women in leadership; intersectionality within larger social movements; social justice issues in education; historic precursors of contemporary constructions of race and ethnicity; and the evolution of social institutions and movements in the 20th and 21st century.
The Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award will recognize junior faculty candidates who not only balance research, teaching, and service but in fact give great weight to the creation of an inclusive campus community for underrepresented students and scholars. The selectors will focus on and privilege service and leadership activities that address and ameliorate underrepresentation on campus, and give preference to candidates who embody a high standard of excellence.
ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION
Applicants eligible for the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award will be assistant professors in tenure-track appointments who are pursuing tenure. They will have successfully passed the standard third-year/midpoint review or their institution’s equivalent no later than January 31, 2022. Eligible applicants are typically in the fourth or fifth year of the tenure-track appointment and are still working to complete key items for the tenure dossier, which should not be scheduled for submission prior to the end of the award year (Summer 2023). Please note that the award seeks to support progress toward tenure for scholars who are also meaningfully engaged in building campus community; therefore, applicants who are already effectively in a position to go up for tenure—for instance, those who have already submitted the dossier and/or who would be considered for tenure during the award year—will be ineligible. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States as of December 1, 2020 (please include a copy of your green card with your application supplemental items if a permanent resident).
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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November 1-4, NIH Will Offer FREE Virtual Seminar on November
“Are you ready to learn more about the NIH grants process while connecting with NIH/HHS staff and collecting resources to share with your team? This fall, the NIH is bringing back the NIH Virtual Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration directly to your computer…FREE of charge! Mark your calendar for Monday, November 1 – Thursday, November 4!
This event is designed to demystify the NIH grant application, review, award and post-award processes and policies! Register today and be sure to check out all the networking opportunities taking place during the seminar, including new ways to chat one on one with NIH and HHS experts, interact with attendees, and make the most of the seminar.
If you’re new to working with the NIH grants process as an investigator or administrator, join us as we connect and collaborate! Here’s what to expect:
Are you excited yet? Keep tabs on the latest registration and agenda updates on the seminar website. We hope to ‘see’ you there!”
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