Mellon Arts and the Common Good Faculty Mini-Grants

Purpose: The Mellon funded multi-year initiative The Arts and the Common Good seeks to illustrate the various ways in which the arts – in concert and dialogue with other areas of exploration and knowledge – help us understand what the common good is (and what it is not), how we can achieve this good, and what we must do to strengthen, expand, and sustain it. The mini-grants are designed to engage faculty in disciplines outside of the arts with this endeavor and promote interdisciplinary exploration of such themes as: “the arts and invention/generation,” “the arts and public discourse,” “the arts and risk,” “the arts and imagination,” “the arts and difference,” and “the arts and the communication of ideas.” This can be achieved, for example, through conference and workshop attendance, independent research, organizing campus events, forming partnerships with arts organizations, and special projects.

Eligibility: Grants may be awarded to members of the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts teaching in disciplines outside of the arts (except in the case of collaborative grants), including those teaching at least half-time and those on sabbatical or leave without pay. Collaborative grants that include at least two faculty members (one of which may be in an arts discipline) will also be considered. When the Mellon Advisory Committee considers applications, priority will be given to applications from tenured or tenure-track faculty, followed by full-time non-tenure-track faculty, and then part-time faculty.

Deadlines: April 1, 2015 for summer 2015 (after June 30) or fall 2015 November 1, 2015 for January 2016 or spring 2016 (before June 30)

Funding Amount: A maximum of $1,000 per request or $1,000 per faculty member in the case of collaborative grants. The Mellon Advisory Committee sets the funding limit and reviews it periodically. The limit may vary according to the size of the budgetary allocation and the number of applications received in a given year.

Use of Funds: The funds are to be used to cover expenses directly incurred by the faculty member.

Eligible expenses: Costs for the following have been viewed as eligible: travel and other expenses related to conferences, conventions, and workshops; travel to libraries and research collections; materials for special projects; equipment*; student work stipends; organizing a campus event. The Committee will also consider requests outside of this description if accompanied by a full explanation of the project. *please note that if equipment is purchased for the project it remains the property of the Mellon Grant until Spring 2017; after that the equipment becomes the property of the faculty member’s department Financial Gain: Should a faculty member gain financially from the proposed project (advances, royalties, etc.), funds provided by the grant should be returned.

Applications: Submit your application by filling out the form below and sending it to Kimberly Rhodes, Art History Department ([email protected]). Please provide all of the information requested. Incomplete applications will not be considered. An applicant may be requested to provide more details than contained in the initial application if members of the Mellon Advisory Committee deem this necessary.

Payment of Grant Expenses: The faculty member will be reimbursed upon presentation of original receipts.

Submission of Receipts: Receipts for all grant expenses, accompanied by the final grant report, should be submitted to Kimberly Rhodes (DOYO 113D, Ext. 3757) upon completion of the grant activity and no later than the end of the semester for which the funding was granted. Grant expenses will not be reimbursed until the report is submitted. IRS regulations provide that research grant funds are taxable as income to the recipient unless grant recipients submit receipts for all expenditures related to the grant, including copies of personal checks when appropriate. Receipts for travel must be provided in accordance with the University Travel Regulations.

Reports: Upon completion of the grant activity and no later than the end of the semester for which the funding was granted grant recipients must submit a brief report along with their receipts,. Grant recipients may also be asked to participate in a public event held on campus at the end of the academic year to reflect on the progress of the initiative.

Report format: Reports should include:  A brief description of the activities completed;  An accounting of expenditures  A brief description of outcomes in relation to The Arts and the Common Good initiative (will you be integrating new interdisciplinary ideas into your teaching? have you found new avenues for research? will you collaborate with an arts department on campus or an outside arts organization? have you organized a campus event?). 1

Application for Mellon Arts and the Common Good Faculty Mini-Grants Deadlines: April 1, 2015 for summer ’15 or fall ‘15 November 1, 2015 for January ’16 or spring ’16 Application for: __Summer 2015 __Fall 2015 __January 2016 __Spring 2016

1. Name and Department:

2. Describe the project and discuss how it pertains to The Arts and the Common Good initiative.

3. Itemize and total the expenses of the project. Please include the full cost of the project not just the expenses that will be covered by the $1,000 grant.

4. If applicable, identify other potential sources of financial support for this project.

Signature ______

Department ______Date ______