College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Faculty Research Grants
Spring 2015 Call for Proposals. Deadline: February 26, 2015
Revised February 4, 2015
Purpose of Awards:
The Office of the Dean offers a variety of funding opportunities intended to aid faculty with research activities and creative work. Niles Research Grants support a range of research expenses, including purchase of equipment, release time from teaching, research assistance, research trips, publication subventions, and summer research salary. Dean’s Faculty Fellowships for Research provide a more substantial investment in faculty research. Incentive Grants, with funds from the Office of the Vice
President for Research and the Institute for the Society, Culture, and Environment, support faculty research that leads to new proposals for external grants, with particular emphasis on funding release time from teaching, graduate research assistants, and mentoring. Humanities Symposium grants support collaborative planning for a major conference that addresses both scholarly and public audiences. CLAHS faculty members are encouraged to apply for any funds that will aid their research or other scholarly work. Faculty members are permitted to submit proposals for multiple competitions; each proposal should explain the relationship to the other proposals submitted by the same scholar(s). Research grants cannot be used for conference travel. To maximize the distribution of funds, some proposals may be only partially funded. Joint proposals from multiple faculty members are encouraged; award amounts for collaborative projects will be limited to the same amount as individual awards.
Deadline February 26, 2015 , for the following five categories:
1.
Niles Research Grants, up to $4,000, to be expended July 2015-June 2016.
2.
Dean’s Faculty Fellowships for Research, up to $8,000, to be expended July 2015-June 2016.
3.
Incentive Grants, up to $6,000, to be expended July 2015-June 2016.
4.
Humanities Symposia, $8,000, for planning in 2016 and a conference in 2016-2017.
Required Elements for All Proposals:
1) The Cover Sheet with departmental endorsement by chair/head and other required information.
2) A descriptive narrative of no more than 3 pages (including reference list, if needed), including:
□ The significance of the proposed research or other scholarly activity;
□ The rationale (justification) for the research or other scholarly activity;
□ How the research or scholarly activity will benefit the applicant’s research program;
□ Anticipated outcomes related to CLAHS / VT goals and contributions to applicant’s field;
□ A detailed budget and justification for use of funds;
□ A description of the research contributions of graduate assistants, if relevant;
□ Any other pertinent information necessary for the review committee.
3) A curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum) documenting applicant’s scholarly or creative research.
Selection Criteria for all Research Grants:
Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
► The significance of the proposed activity.
► The contribution proposed activity makes to the applicant’s field and area of scholarship.
► The conception, organization, and clarity of the proposal.
► The significance of the requested funding for the applicant’s research or other scholarly activity.
► The explanation and justification of budgeted expenditures.
► The feasibility for successful completion of the proposed activity.
► Anticipated outcomes as related to the CLAHS and University goals.
► Potential for the project to lead to future external funding.

Additional Criteria for Incentive Grants:
► How the requested funds will advance efforts to secure external funding.
► Evidence of efforts to secure external funding for research projects.
Additional Criteria for Humanities Symposium Awards
► Contribution of project to knowledge in the applicant’s field and to the humanities generally.
► The conception and organization of proposed Symposium, including interdisciplinary perspectives.
► The quality of proposed Symposium speakers (a tentative schedule should be included in proposal).
► Likelihood that the Symposium will lead to public dissemination of outcomes in a scholarly format.
Selection Process: The Faculty Council will appoint a Selection Committee of five persons from the
CLAHS faculty. The Associate Dean for Research and the Director of ISCE will be non-voting members.
Depending on the range of applications submitted, every effort will be made to fund proposals across faculty ranks and disciplines. Applicants will be notified of decisions within one month of submission.
NEH Summer Stipends:
Starting in October 2015, the competition for Humanities Summer Stipends will be shifted to the fall proposal cycle, for funding in summer 2016. The process for selecting Virginia Tech nominees for the
National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend competition will be announced in summer 2015.
Eligibility : Only CLAHS tenure-track and tenured faculty may apply for these research funds. Faculty may submit more than one proposal in each cycle, if they are seeking funds across multiple categories.
Award Administration and Budget Management: Awards will be administered by the home department of the successful applicant. The department is responsible for compliance with state spending guidelines, university policies and procedures, appropriate documentation, and budget adjustments.
Reports of Outcomes: Successful applicants are required to submit a report of 500 words to the
Associate Dean for Research, Tom Ewing, etewing@vt.edu
. Reports will be due by September 15, 2016.
Questions: Please direct questions about proposals and guidelines to Tom Ewing: etewing@vt.edu
.

CLAHS Faculty Research Funding
Cover Sheet for Spring 2015 Competition
Submit one electronic copy of the application in a single pdf file by 5:00 p.m., February 26, 2015, to Holly Cromer (hcromer@vt.edu)
Name:_________________________________ Academic Rank: __________________________
Department:____________________________ Mail Code:______________________________
Office Phone:___________________________ E-mail Address:__________________________
Funds Requested (indicate the amount of requested funding on line):
$ ________ Niles Research Grant, up to $4,000, for projects July 2015-June 2016
$ ________ Dean’s Faculty Fellowship for Research, up to $8,000, for projects July 2015-June 2016
$ ________ Grant-Writing Incentive Grant, up to $6,000, for projects July 2015-June 2016
$ ________ Humanities Symposium, up to $8,000, for projects in 2015-2016
Endorsement by department head/chair : The signature of the department head/chair indicates to the Selection
Committee: (a) that the head/chair considers the proposal to be academically worthy of support; (b) that the head/chair is responsible for funds being spend in accordance with university policies and practices; and (c) in the case of a proposal for a course release, that the head/chair has verified that adequate funds have been allocated in the budget to provide for the applicant’s course load to be covered, and that arrangements can be made to prevent any detrimental impact on enrollments. The head/chair is not to rank proposals originating from the department.
Head/Chair Signature:___________________________________________________ Date: __________
Printed Name:_____________________________________________________
Please complete all of the information requested below:
1. List amounts of previous funding from CLAHS, including Niles Research Grants, Dean’s Fellowships, Grant
Writing Incentive Grants, and Humanities Stipends:
2. Please list outcomes from previous CLAHS research funding, including publications, external grants (include both proposals and awards), and promotions, if appropriate.
3. Have you applied for additional funds (either internal or external) for this project? Yes ____ No ____.
If yes, please indicate the amounts requested or confirmed and the source of funding.
4. Are you anticipating any leave during 2015-2016 (study-research assignment, grant-funded leave, administrative course releases, unpaid leave, etc.)? Yes ____ No ____. If yes, please explain the relationship of the leave to your proposed project:
5. Please provide an abstract summarizing the proposal (maximum of 150 words):