Application for WIC Grants
Revised 1-26-09
The Women in the Curriculum and Women's Studies (WIC/WST)
Program is committed to supporting scholarship concerning women
and to developing an academic climate that is open to the history,
contributions, values, aspirations, and perspectives of both
sexes. To advance these two ends, the program offers summer
grants to faculty for:
(1) curriculum projects designed to
integrate material on women into new or existing courses; (2)
projects designed to improve the academic climate for women;
(3) scholarly research projects or creative work pertinent to WIC/WST goals;
or (4) reading projects. This year WIC offers the possibility of one or two larger grants for major initiatives
in departments planning significant curriculum revision involving
a number of courses and a number of faculty. In assisting these
efforts, the WIC/WST Program furthers the long-range goals
of the University as well as its own goals.
The WIC/WST Director
and Associate Director are able to assist faculty in writing
proposals and designing projects. WIC/WST consultants can
also recommend pertinent books and scholarly articles and
can suggest ways to integrate Women's Studies scholarship
into the curriculum and to present this material to students
TYPES OF PROJECTS
1. Revision or creation of courses to be taught in 2009-2010
(<$3,000.00)
Faculty may receive funding for concentrated work that includes
textbook analysis, a comprehensive literature search, and the
background reading of pertinent books or articles for inclusion
as required reading or as sources of information for lectures.
The final product should be the revision of an existing course
or the development of a new course. In a major initiative this
should include the revision of several department courses and
include some support from the department. (<$6,000.00)
2. Academic Climate
Members of the University community are encouraged to propose
projects that would assist the effort to improve the academic
climate for women. Areas of focus could include classroom interactions,
advising processes, availability of role models and mentors,
or retention strategies. (<$3,000.00)
3. Research, Writing, and Creative Achievement
Faculty will be funded to pursue work that contributes
to the body of knowledge about women and that will result in
contributions to or publications in Women's Studies or in another
pertinent discipline. Research or other creative work that will be used in the classroom is especially encouraged. The committee is particularly interested
in innovative proposals including those that mark a shift in
the focus of the faculty member's research, that are collaborative,
or that aim to turn research into publication. (<$3,000.00)
4. Reading
Faculty can be funded to do some focused summer reading on
a topic involving women's issues related to courses that they
teach, and/or research that they do. This option may appeal to people who aren't ready to
put together a full proposal for course revision, either because
they don't think they know enough or because they don't have
time before the deadlines. (<$750.00)
ELIGIBILITY
The WIC/WST Program is interested in receiving proposals from
faculty who have recently begun exploring scholarship on women,
as well as from those with experience in Women's Studies scholarship.
All those faculty who have an affiliation with the University at the
time of application that is expected to continue are eligible
to apply, including previous recipients of WIC grants; however,
awards will not be made to the same person in two consecutive
years. Team proposals are also eligible as long as at least
one faculty member is centrally involved; teams may include
professional and classified staff, students, and others.
FUNDING
The summer grants will be awarded on a competitive basis.
Individual or small team projects may be funded up to $3,000.00,
depending on the length of time involved and the complexity
of the project. Reading grants are funded at $750.00. It is
expected that the majority of the funded portion of the work
will be completed during the summer. A faculty member may submit
more than one proposal, but at most one will be funded. Major
initiatives may be funded up to $6,000.00.
PROCEDURE
1. Call Ann Schonberger, the Director of the WIC/WST Program,
or Mazie Hough, WIC/WST Associate Director (x1228), to discuss
any questions you may have about the grants, especially if
you are considering applying for one of the larger grants.
Call one of us by February 23 if possible.
2. Before Wednesday, February 25 (the sooner the better), submit
an intent to plan on paper (1 - 2 pages) to the WIC/WST Office in 101
Fernald Hall. Intents to plan should include a description
of what you plan to do, a list of resources available to do
it, and a tentative budget. The purpose of the intent to plan
is to give the WIC/WST staff an idea of what you are proposing,
so that we can give you some early feedback and refer you to
additional resources. Intents to plan for reading grants are
encouraged but not required.
3. Intents to plan will be returned to you with comments.
4. Make an appointment, if you want assistance, to discuss
your proposal with the WIC/WST Director, Associate Director, or a consultant designated
by them.
5. Prepare a full proposal that responds to the guidelines
below. The original and six copies (seven total) of the full
proposal, each to include the signed cover sheet, the abstract,
the budget, the description of the project, the bibliography,
and a current curriculum vitae (2 to 3 pages) for each applicant, should be
delivered to the WIC/WST Office by 4:30 PM on Monday, March 30, 2009.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PROPOSALS CHECKLIST
Each proposal must have the following parts, in order to be
considered; all of these materials must be submitted. Back-to-back
duplication is encouraged.
1. A WIC proposal cover sheet endorsed by the director, department chair, or dean (if there is no director or chair).
This need not come with the preliminary proposal, but must come with the full proposal.
2. A half-page abstract, summarizing the proposal.
3. A detailed budget, which may include such expenses as curriculum
materials, fees for consultants, stipends (maximum: $500.00
per week per person for full-time work), travel to collections,
or the acquisition of resource materials not generally available.
4. A description of the project that follows both the general
guidelines below for all proposals and the guidelines specific
to the type of project
(5 - 10 double-spaced pages). Reading
grant proposals may be shorter. Be sure to respond to each point.
a. The description should present a rationale for the work,
describe the proposed project, and state the objectives.
b. The description should explain the methodology or the procedure
for accomplishing the work.
c. The description should indicate a plan for the results
of the proposed work, such as the outline of a book, the production
of an article, or the description of a new or revised syllabus.
5. A bibliography of relevant material.
6. A current curriculum vitae (2 to 3 pages) for each participant or, in
the case of a major initiative, a brief curriculum vitae for
each participant.
7. Other programs to which the project has been proposed. Explain the role and importance of other funding sources.
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR CURRICULUM PROPOSALS CHECKLIST
1. Identify the course (or courses) that will be developed
or changed. Be sure to indicate these things: when the course
will be taught in 2009 - 2010; the frequency of its (their) offering(s)
in the future; the past enrollment(s) for existing courses;
and the number of faculty who will be involved.
2. Explain specifically the area or areas of Women's Studies
knowledge that will be pursued, and explain how that information
will be used in revising or in developing the course(s).
3. Cite previous work participants have done in this area.
4. Indicate clearly the reading and other work you plan to
do in the funded period.
5. Explain how the new or revised course(s) fit(s) into your
department's curriculum planning objectives. Has any new course been approved by the UPCC or at any lower level?
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR ACADEMIC CLIMATE PROPOSALS CHECKLIST
1. Identify the intention of the proposal (for example, to
increase the retention of women students in a nontraditional
field).
2. Explain precisely how that goal will be pursued.
3. Indicate sources consulted for background information.
4. Explain your own expertise/knowledge/preparation for pursuing
the project.
5. Indicate the extent of support from the appropriate campus
unit(s).
6. Describe exactly what will be done if the grant is funded.
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH, WRITING, AND CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT
PROPOSALS CHECKLIST
1. Identify the question or thesis of your research or the
subject of your creative work.
2. Explain how your work builds on existing scholarship in
the field or fields involved.
3. Discuss the significance of your study in terms of the
result you anticipate and the contribution your work will make
to your discipline and to Women's Studies scholarship or creative work.
4. Identify, if you can, the ways in which this research or
creative work will be useful in courses you or others teach
here at the University.
5. Describe the work to be done during the funded period and
how that work fits into your overall plan for the project.
6. Explain your expectations for publication, performance, exhibit, or other dissemination.
7. Indicate past support received for this project, and the
amount and source of any external funding currently being sought
for this same period.
8. If the research involves human subjects, note your compliance
with requirements for such research.
SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR READING PROPOSALS CHECKLIST
1. Develop a bibliography of books or articles to be read.
2. Write a brief description of why you are reading these
materials and what effect you expect the reading to have on
what you teach.
REVIEW CRITERIA (What our funding decisions are based on)
1. Suitability of the project to WIC/WST Program goals. (These
can be requested or downloaded from our website: www.umaine.edu/wic)
2. Contribution and significance of this project, its potential
impact on Women's Studies scholarship and creative work, on the University's
curriculum, or on its academic climate.
3. Clarity of the rationale and the objectives.
4. Feasibility of the research, academic climate, or curriculum
effort.
5. Adequacy of the theoretical framework.
6. Effectiveness of the methodology or procedure.
7. Specific indication of work to be funded.
8. Indication of expected results: course(s), publication,
or effect.
9. The quality of the proposal: clarity, completeness, organization,
and presentation.
10. Degree of applicants' awareness of suitable resources.
11. Strength of the applicants' backgrounds in the area of
research or study.
12. Appropriateness of the budget.
BEGINNING-OF-GRANT RESPONSIBILITIES
All awardees are expected to participate in events especially
designed for them after exams in May. The purpose of this activity
is to acquaint participants with information on Women's Studies
and curriculum transformation and to establish a network for
discussing problems and sharing resources over the summer and
the following academic year.
END-OF-GRANT RESPONSIBILITIES
At the end of the funded project, all grant recipients are
required to submit a final report in accordance with guidelines
provided. Faculty given curriculum grants are expected to submit
revised syllabi and to use WIC questionnaires to evaluate the
impact on students of the new material. Faculty given research
or creative achievement grants should notify the WIC/WST Program
of papers read, work shown, or material published, acknowledge
program support in resulting publications, and supply the office
with a copy or record of those publications. Those given academic
climate grants may be asked to share their results and methodology
with other interested parts of the University. Recipients of
reading grants must submit annotated bibliographies of what
they read and how they will use it. In order to ensure timely preparation of the WIC newsletter for 2010 - 2011, grant recipients are expected to respond to requests for interviews and photos in the summer or early fall of 2010. Finally, grant recipients
will be asked to speak at a WIC/WST function unless that seems
inappropriate.
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