The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is excited to announce a new internal research grant opportunity: the Dean’s Research Challenge Grant. Full-time CAS faculty from all college divisions, including visiting professors and non-tenure track faculty, are eligible to apply. The principal investigator’s (PI) primary appointment must be in a CAS unit. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged, and teams can have non-CAS members.
Beginning with the 2023-24 year, Dean Heather Dillaway seeks proposals on two broad annual themes. Themes will purposely rotate yearly, pending funding, with the explicit goal of stimulating varied areas of research excellence across the college. Rotating annual themes will be broad enough so that full-time faculty in all CAS departments and schools will find opportunity to expand research agendas and innovate in specific focal areas. Themes for the 2023-24 year are: equity and environment. The dean challenges CAS researchers to define both equity and environment as broadly as possible as they think about how to expand their research and innovate around these themes. Faculty members should select one theme under which to submit a proposal.
In total, the college anticipates 6-8 awards (3-5 per theme). Awards will be made of up to $6,000, and the goal is to distribute awards across all CAS divisions. Funds may be used for faculty summer salary, summer support for graduate students, summer support for undergraduate research, or research supplies. Funds will be available starting May 15, 2024 and must be expended by August 31, 2024. Recipients will be required to present their project at a Dean’s Research Symposium in October 2024 (date and time to be determined).
Proposals for the current academic year are due on or before March 1, 2024. Funding decisions will be announced by March 29, 2024.
To learn more about proposal requirements, please review the guidelines or contact Associate Dean Laura Vogel at lavogel@IllinoisState.edu.
