Arthur Vining Davis Foundation Grant

The purpose of the grant is to invest in the scholarly development of social science and STEM faculty. Funds from the grant will allow Lincoln to offer summer faculty institutes where faculty members can dedicate an entire summer to research and academic writing for scholarly publications. Those participating will also hire an undergraduate research assistant.

In addition to the summer faculty institutes, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning will offer two pedagogy workshops during the first two years of the grant. Resources from the grant will also be used for curriculum development. Curriculum workshops will be offered to each of the University’s full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members. During the workshops, faculty will review and revise all courses in their majors.

President Allen envisions that these new opportunities will lead to revised majors, an increase in students majoring in social sciences and STEM, more active learning approaches, an increase in publications, and an increase in students pursuing graduate studies in the discipline.

The Social Science and STEM proposals will be accepted through Wednesday, March 31st at 5 p.m. Extended Due Date: Friday, April 23, 2021, by 5:00 p.m.

The Arthur Vining Davis Grant in the Social Sciences & STEM 2021 Faculty Summer Research Application Guidelines

The Arthur Vining Davis grant proposals will be processed, thoroughly vetted and voted on by the Lincoln University's Mellon/Arthur Vining Davis Grant Summer Selection Committee.

All grant proposals must meet the basic requirements of the guidelines including cover page and grant proposal to be considered. Please use the Lincoln University’s Mellon/Arthur Vining Davis Grant Vetting Rubric as your guide as you prepare your proposal.

Application Deadline
Extended Due Date: Friday, April 23, 2021, by 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021, by 5 p.m.  Please apply via Lincoln University's Mellon/Vining Davis Grant Proposal Submission Form. Late applications will not be accepted.

Eligibility

The following are eligible to apply for the Arthur Vining Davis Grant in Social Science/STEM Faculty Summer Research:

• Full-time tenured or tenure track faculty members with primary or secondary appointments in the departments of social science or STEM disciplines.
• Full-time faculty members who are not on sabbatical leave for the 2021-22 school year.
• The Mellon/Vining Davis Summer Research committee members may apply for the grant but are not allowed to vet or vote on their own grant application, grant project proposal, and other supporting documents.

Please note that Arthur Vining Davis Faculty Summer Research may be awarded to faculty more than once, but priority will be given to new awardees.

Please apply via Lincoln University's Mellon/Vining Davis Grant Proposal Submission Form.

Application Requirements and Proposal Format

In preparation for completing the Lincoln University's Vining Davis Grant Proposal Submission Form, you will need to have the following:

• Cover Page (Title of project, your name, your title, department, rank, and contact information (office address, email, office phone, and cell phone).
• Research Statement: a project abstract (including title) of no more than 250 words
• Project Proposal including (minimum of 3 pages, single-spaced and no more than 6 pages single-spaced) including:
  • Introduction (statement of problem, purpose of research, significance of research)
  • Scope, methods, goals, and written scholarly product (i.e. journal article or book chapter) or exhibit
  • Description of the pedagogical goals and impact including the development of a standalone course in the discipline
  • Description of how the project fulfills the mission and vision of the university
  • Description of how you will select, supervise, and communicate with the student research assistant and what tasks the student research assistant will be responsible for completing
  • Description of the conference you and the student will be traveling to and how it will help you fulfill your research goals. Please note that all travelers will need to follow all university regulations for travel including submitting a TAR and receiving approval in advance of travel. Upon return, travelers will be expected to provide documentation for all of their expenses with receipts that must be submitted to receive reimbursement.
  • Description of the supplies and how the supplies will help you fulfill your research goals. You must provide a detailed list of supplies and estimated costs.
• Detailed Work Plan (Summer 2021-Spring 2022): timeline and budget (the timeline should be broken down by month and the work plan should include interim and final research, writing or exhibition goals, and stand-alone course development, and what tasks the student research assistant will be responsible for, and distribution/exhibition plan).
• Summative Assessment: Please detail the product (journal article, book chapter, or exhibit) that you will have produced by the end of the summer (you will be asked to submit this product as part of your midterm report), how and where you will distribute your work for publication or exhibit your work, and how you will assess your summer research and product, and what your next steps will be for creating a stand-alone course based on your research.
• This grant requires a full-time commitment. Please identify any other grant applications you have submitted or received for summer 2021 including granting organization, amount, and project focus. Please note that you may not accept a Faculty Development award during the same summer you are accepting a Vining Davis award.

Formatting and Technical Requirements

• Font: must be easily legible (Helvetica, Arial, Garamond, Times New Roman, etc.) at a size of 12 pt. or larger
• Margins: at least 0.5″ each side
• Spacing - single
• Length: total combined page length should not exceed 6 pages, single-spaced.

Budget

• Each faculty member will receive a $7,500 stipend to complete their research over the course of the summer
• $1,000 travel award to a conference, and
• $2,000 for supplies (You must provide a detailed list of supplies and estimated costs.)
• The research assistant selected by the faculty member to work on the faculty member’s project will receive $3,500 and $1,000 to travel to a conference.

Award Terms

• The award period for full-time research and writing begins June 1, 2021, and continues through August 1, 2021.
• Awardees must participate in the opening orientation, the fall 2021/spring 2022 curriculum and pedagogy workshops. Dates: TBA
• Awardees must produce a scholarly written product or exhibit and distribute it for publication or exhibition.
• Awardees must adhere to the award budget.
• Awardees must submit an interim report by August 28, 2021, and a final report by May 9, 2022.

Reporting Requirements

Arthur Vining Davis Summer Faculty Research awardees are required to submit both an interim (due August 28, 2021) and a final report (due May 9, 2022) to the Mellon/Vining Davis Summer Faculty Research Co-PIs, Mr. Fred-Rick Roundtree and Dr. Pia Deas in a PDF file submitted via the final report form.

• A detailed summary of all relevant activities performed during the period of the award
• A review of goals and objectives attained, including qualitative and quantitative data
• A summary of the project’s impact on teaching pedagogy and the humanities at Lincoln University
• A review of the project’s personal impact on the awardees’ current scholarship in teaching
• A final budget report detailing all expenditures and indicating any unspent balances including a detailed list of supplies and costs
• Final reports and related documentary materials of awarded Arthur Vining Davis Summer Faculty Research will be added to Lincoln University’s Scholarly Repository.

Spring 2021 Deadline for Applications

Wednesday, March 31, 2021, by 5 p.m. - Extended Due Date: Friday, April 23, 2021, by 5:00 p.m.

Announcement of Award Recipients

by May 14, 2021

• ​The 2021 proposals for Social Science and STEM fields are due Wednesday, March 31st by 5 p.m. via the proposal portal. Junior social science & STEM faculty are particularly encouraged to apply.
• The Arthur Vining Davis Awards will include a $7,500 summer faculty stipend, $3,500 student research assistant stipend, $1,000 faculty conference travel, $1,000 student conference travel and $2,000 for supplies.
• Activities during the 2021-2022 school year include a pedagogy workshop and other activities.