L0251
Mellon Foundation, Andrew W.
John E. Sawyer Seminars (IUB ONLY)
n/a
URL for complete guidelines: http://www.mellon.org/grant_programs/programs/higher-education-and-scholarship/john-e-sawyer-seminars-on-the-comparative-study-of-cultures
Brief Description:
PLEASE NOTE: We do not receive much advance notice of Mellon programs and have to conduct the internal competitions on a very tight schedule. Accordingly, please be aware that your proposal for the internal competition is your final proposal. If you are nominated, you will not have a chance to revise your proposal before it is sent to Mellon.
Purpose: The Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminars program was established in 1994 to provide support for comparative research on historical and contemporary topics of major scholarly significance. The seminars, named in honor of the Foundation’s long-serving third president, John E. Sawyer, have brought together faculty, foreign visitors, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from a variety of fields mainly, but not exclusively, in the humanities and social sciences, for intensive study of subjects chosen by the participants. This program aims to engage productive scholars in multi-disciplinary and comparative inquiry that would (in ordinary university circumstances) be difficult to pursue, while at the same time avoiding the institutionalization of such work in new centers, departments, or programs.
Program Activities: To date, 112 seminars have been funded. Their subjects have ranged widely, and they can be viewed on Mellon's website, www.mellon.org, search for Sawyer Seminar and see “funded seminars.”
Each seminar normally meets for one year (though some have continued for longer periods). Faculty participants have largely come from the humanities and social sciences, although some of the most successful and provocative seminars have also drawn on faculty members from professional schools. Seminar leaders are encouraged also to invite participants from nearby institutions. As the Foundation reviews proposals, preference will be given to those that include concrete plans for engaging participants with diverse institutional and disciplinary affiliations.
Sawyer Seminar awards provide support for one postdoctoral fellow to be recruited through a national competition, and for the dissertation research of two graduate students. It is expected that the graduate students will be active participants in the seminars, and the seminars’ contribution to graduate education in the humanities and social sciences will be carefully considered even though they are not intended to be organized as official credit-bearing courses.
Award Amount:
The maximum grant award for each Sawyer Seminar is $175,000.
Funding requests should not exceed $175,000 for each seminar. It is expected that each seminar’s budget will provide for a postdoctoral fellowship to be awarded for the year the seminar meets, and two dissertation fellowships for graduate students to be awarded for the seminar year or the year that follows. The amount for postdoctoral fellowship awards and dissertation fellowship stipends should follow institutional practices. Travel and living expenses for short stays by visiting scholars and the costs of coordinating the seminar, including those incurred for speakers and their travel may be included. The grants may not, however, be used for the costs of released time for regular faculty participants, or for indirect costs.
Limitation:
Limit of 2 -- Bloomington only
A proposal's PI and one or more of the lead collaborators must come from the Bloomington Campus, but proposals that also involve one or more collaborators from other IU campuses are especially encouraged.
Internal deadline: 1/4/2010
Preliminary Proposal Deadline:
Agency deadline: 1/22/2010
*Status of Internal Competition:
Bloomington - Open
Indianapolis - Closed
East - Closed
Fort Wayne - Closed
Kokomo - Closed
Northwest - Closed
South Bend - Closed
Southeast - Closed
To apply for IU Internal competition:
For consideration as a Bloomington campus nominee, submit the following documents electronically to limsub@indiana.edu by NOON, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2010 for internal coordination.
Proposals should include:
- A 5-7 page proposal (see proposal content below from Mellon)
- A budget detailing the use of the seminar funds
- A budget rationale (briefly explaining any item whose purpose or method of computation is not self-evident)
- An abbreviated CV for the principal seminar organizer (not to exceed 2 pages)
- A letter of support from the current chair of your department (Chair should submit his or her letter separately)
Contact Information for Inquiries and applications:
| Limited Submission | Donna Carter | (812) 856-1368 | |
| Bloomington | Donna Carter | (812) 856-1368 | |
| East | Mary Blakefield | (765) 973-8522 | |
| Fort Wayne | Carl Drummond | (260) 481-5750 | |
| Indianapolis | Etta Ward | (317) 278-8427 | |
| Kokomo | Linda Bielewicz | (765) 455-9227 | |
| Northwest | Marie Czach | (219) 981-4262 | |
| South Bend | Erika Zynda | (574) 520-4181 | |
| Southeast | Walter Ryan | (812) 941-2539 |
*If you are interested in a program with an expired internal deadline which shows a status of "Open", send an e-mail to the appropriate contact above to inquire about submitting an internal proposal for consideration. A program showing a status of "Closed" is not accepting any additional internal applications.
******************
