Vanderbilt University’s Office of the Provost has awarded 19 Research Scholar Grants to fund faculty projects focused on innovative scholarship and creative expression. The awards support humanistic research and efforts that are unlikely to have outside funding options.
Funding categories for Research Scholar Grants include Faculty Development Grants, which provide funds for an individual faculty member to carry out research, including disciplinary research; Research Scholar Fellowships, providing partial salary support for a second semester of leave; and Summer Stipends, which are awarded on a competitive basis to faculty who propose summer research or creative expression projects of exceptional quality or promise.
Among this year’s awards are a Faculty Development Grant for Assistant Professor of Medicine, Health and Society Tara McKay’s research of LGBT rights and health in Mozambique; a Research Scholar Fellowship for Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Anand Taneja’s study of the infrastructure, ecology and religious landscapes of Delhi; and a Summer Stipend for Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Sociology Holly McCammon’s research of U.S. women’s legal activism in the judicial arena.
“Humanistic research has limited opportunities for funding, making our Research Scholar Grants critical for these faculty,” Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Susan R. Wente said. “[rquote]By supporting these projects we encourage our faculty to aim high and to pursue their passions, and by doing so we advance broadly a greater appreciation for scholarship and the arts.”[/rquote]
More than $5 million has been awarded to Vanderbilt researchers through the program since 2000. Past examples include grants supporting Associate Professor of Anthropology Markus Eberl’s study of the economic wealth and sociopolitical power at the ancient Maya capital of Tamarindito in Guatemala, and Associate Professor of Clarinet Bil Jackson’s creation of a definitive recording of Clarinet Concerto, written for him by Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts.
Research Scholar Grants are open to Vanderbilt University-employed faculty in all schools and colleges. A call for proposals for the next cycle of Research Scholar Grants will be issued this fall, with the 2018 awards announced next spring.
A full list of 2017 Research Scholar Grants projects is available here.