• Civitas Fellowship for Summer 2005 (application due May 15, 2005)
• 2005-06 RFP for U-M Faculty (due March 21, 2005)
• 2005-06 RFP for U-M Rackham Graduate Students (due March 21, 2005)
• Previously Awarded Grants
  • 2004
  • 2003
  • 2002
  • 2001
  • 2000
  • 1999

Civitas Fellowship, Summer 2005

A Public Scholarship Opportunity in GIS Mapping for a University of Michigan Graduate Student

The University of Michigan’s Arts of Citizenship Program will award a Civitas Fellowship of $4000 for a University of Michigan graduate student to carry out GIS mapping for a public history project in summer 2005. This Civitas Fellowship is part of a University of Michigan partnership with Heritage Battle Creek, a grassroots public history association. Over the past two years, community activists, community college students, and others have worked with Civitas Fellows in summer Field Schools to learn about oral histories, archival research, preservation activities, and exhibit-based interpretation of the history of the African American community in Battle Creek since World War II. Along with continuing Civitas Fellows, the new Civitas Fellow will help develop exhibit and website materials, joining with community historians to uncover and interpret the history of a displaced community. For a third year, Civitas Fellows will contribute to shaping this innovative partnership in historical research, community practice, and graduate education.

QUALIFICATIONS: Because funding for this Civitas Fellowship is provided by the University of Michigan Rackham School of Graduate Studies, applicants must be Rackham-enrolled. Experience with advanced research methodology and applications in GIS mapping is required. Excellent writing skills, ability to work well with teams, and serious interest in the public applications of cultural history and in interdisciplinary work are required. Interest in African American history, 20th-century urban history, and the history of community politics is desirable. Experience with community history organizations (eg, museums, historical societies) is preferred but not required. The Civitas Fellow must be willing to start intensive work June 1, 2005, both in Ann Arbor and in Battle Creek, which is an eighty-minute drive from Ann Arbor.

AWARD: The Civitas Fellow will receive $4000 for the summer, paid in two installments ($2000 in early July and $2000 upon completion of project report). No additional funds will be paid for tuition, fees, or health insurance. Civitas Fellows will be expected to pay all travel expenses from the fellowship funds.

TO APPLY: Application is open until May 15, 2005. Send a digital curriculum vitae and letter of interest to Prof. David Scobey, Director, Arts of Citizenship at scobey@umich.edu. Applicants will be screened on a rolling basis as soon as their materials are received.

Civitas Fellowships are funded with generous support from the UM Rackham School of Graduate Studies.

The Arts of Citizenship Program, funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research, builds bridges between the university and the community through collaborative partnerships, experimental teaching, and innovative scholarship in the arts, the humanities, and design.

Request for Proposals from University of Michigan Faculty

The 2005-2006 Arts of Citizenship Faculty Grants for Public and Community-Based Scholarly Activities in the Arts, the Humanities, and Design

The Arts of Citizenship Program invites applications for its 2005-2006 cycle of Faculty Grants. The goal of the program is to foster publicly engaged, innovative work in the arts, the humanities, and design, including research, teaching, exhibits, and creative projects. Applicants may consider a broad range of possible projects, including but not limited to

• collaborative research, creative, and cultural projects with community partners such as schools, museums, or grassroots groups;
• intellectual or creative projects that use unconventional forms or formats (exhibits, websites, non-academic publishing) to reach multiple audiences;
• intellectual or creative projects that explore public culture in publicly accessible ways;
• innovative teaching and curricula that bridge academic study and community settings;
• scholarly, creative, or pedagogical writing resulting from community-based work or community projects.

Applications are encouraged from faculty in all disciplines and schools. Although requests for support of ongoing projects are welcome, we encourage faculty to use these grants to expand the public role of their scholarly activities in the arts, the humanities, and design. We especially invite applications for projects that may have difficulty gaining conventional academic support.

Awards

Arts of Citizenship Faculty Grants may go to either collaborative or individual projects. Funds may be used for such items as hiring of project staff (student or non-student), purchase of research materials, supplies for courses, travel costs, release time for faculty, summer supplemental pay, and event costs. The maximum award is $15,000. In past competitions, most awards have been less, and recipients may be asked to prioritize. Recipients will be expected to comply with ethical standards for research and for the use of intellectual property; to report in writing on the progress of their work; and to participate during the 2005-2006 academic year in collective discussions with other faculty and students affiliated with the program. Information about the program and about past grant recipients can be found at www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu.

Eligibility

Arts of Citizenship Grants are open to tenure-track, non-tenure-track, emeritus, clinical, adjunct, and research faculty, as well as librarians, archivists, and information professionals employed by the University. Collaboration among multiple units, staff, and students is encouraged, but the principal investigator on an Arts of Citizenship Faculty Grant may not be a student.

Timeline and Review

Grant applications are due by 3:00 pm, Monday, March 21, 2005, for projects seeking support between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006. Applications will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary panel of faculty. Awards will be announced in May 2004.

Selection Criteria

Grants will be awarded on the basis of

1. intellectual quality and significance of the scholarly, creative, or teaching activity proposed;
2. quality and significance of the project’s contribution to public or community life;
3. the project’s encouragement of innovative academic research and teaching and of interdisciplinary collaboration;
4. value of the project to the growth of both UM and community participants.

Applications

There is no pre-printed application form. Please double space and use a 12-point font. Application packets must include five copies of the following, in order:

1. Cover sheet:
   
   • project title
   • name, title, UM department, address, phone number, fax number, and email address of principal investigator(s)
   • names and addresses of UM collaborators and of any community partners
   • name and email address of UM department grant administrator
2. 100-word summary of the project.
3. Project statement of no more than 1000 words, outlining the goals and significance of the project, the outcomes or products, the timetable for achieving them, and the role of UM and community collaborators.
4. Budget statement detailing and justifying the request for support. Include information about other actual or potential sources of support. If the proposal is part of a larger or longer-term project, include information about the overall project budget. Be sure to calculate benefits with salary costs. Since faculty release time is especially costly and resources are limited, applicants requesting release time funding may want to include an alternative budget proposal.
5. Curriculum vitae for each collaborator on the project.
6. Letters from community partners, if any, specifying contribution to the project.

Submission

Applicants must submit five copies of the packet by 3:00 pm, Monday, March 21, 2005, to Arts of Citizenship, 1220 South University, Suite 215, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2585.

Questions?

Karis Crawford, Program Associate, Arts of Citizenship, 734.615.0609; fax 734.998.6159; karis@umich.edu

Request for Proposals from University of Michigan Rackham Graduate Students

2005-2006 Grants for Public and Community-Based Scholarly Activities in the Arts, the Humanities, and Design

Sponsored by the UM Arts of Citizenship Program with financial support from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies

The Arts of Citizenship Program invites applications from Rackham-enrolled UM graduate students for its 2005-2006 grant cycle. The goal of the program is to foster publicly engaged, innovative work in the arts, the humanities, and design, as part of the professional development of graduate students. Applications for research, teaching, exhibit, or creative projects are encouraged from all disciplines and schools. We especially invite applications for projects that may have difficulty gaining conventional academic support. Applicants are encouraged to consider a broad range of possible projects, including but not limited to

• collaborative research, creative, and cultural projects with community partners such as schools, museums, or grassroots groups;
• intellectual or creative projects that use unconventional forms or formats (exhibits, websites, non-academic publishing) to reach multiple audiences;
• intellectual or creative projects that explore public culture in publicly accessible ways;
• innovative teaching and curricula that bridge academic study and community settings.

Awards

Arts of Citizenship Graduate Student Grants may be used for such expenses as research materials, art supplies, travel, data collection, events, or exhibits. Students may also use the funds for living expenses while they work on a project. We estimate that two to four grants of $2500 to $5000 each will be awarded. Note that no health insurance or other benefits are attached to these grants. Recipients will be expected to comply with ethical standards for research and for the use of intellectual property; to report in writing on the progress of their work; and to participate during the 2005-2006 academic year in collective discussions with faculty and students affiliated with the Arts of Citizenship Program. Information on the Arts of Citizenship Program and on past recipients of grants is at www.artsofcitizenship.umich.edu.

Eligibility

Arts of Citizenship Graduate Student Grants are open to Rackham-enrolled graduate students at any stage in their graduate careers. Students may be in any field, though projects must be in the arts, the humanities, or design. Collaboration of students from multiple units is encouraged, with funding to go to joint expenses of the applicants. In the case of collaborative applications, a letter of support from a faculty member must be included for each applicant (see Applications, below).

Timeline and Review

Grant applications are due by 3:00 pm, Monday, March 21, 2005, for projects seeking support between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006. Applications will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary panel of faculty. Awards will be announced in May 2005.

Selection Criteria

Grants will be awarded on the basis of

1. intellectual quality and significance of the scholarly or creative activity proposed;
2. quality and significance of the project’s contribution to public or community life;
3. the project’s encouragement of innovative academic research and teaching and of interdisciplinary collaboration;
4. value of the project to the growth of both the graduate student and the community participants;
5. academic standing of the graduate student (project work must not inhibit progress toward the degree).