CAL mini-grant funds are designed to support faculty research, scholarship, and creative activities. Funds may be used to support travel to archives or field sites, publication-related expenses (including permissions and indexing), participant recruitment, research assistance, equipment purchases, and other costs associated with scholarly and creative endeavors. Grants for publication-related expenses are particularly appropriate in cases where publication costs are unusually high due to artwork, maps, photographs, permissions, and other special production elements. Awards for publication-related expenses will be paid to faculty members as a taxable stipend. When applying for awards for equipment purchases, faculty should demonstrate that equipment is not currently available through their departments, the libraries, or other JMU sources and must follow all JMU procurement policies. Please note that mini-grant awards do not fund conference-related travel

Award amount: Up to $2,500

Deadlines: Friday, September 18, 2026 for the fall application cycle or Friday, January 29, 2027 for the spring application cycle

Eligibility and conditions of acceptance:

• All CAL faculty members are eligible to apply.
• Faculty may only apply once in an academic year. If you apply in the fall semester, you are not eligible to apply in the spring semester.
• Faculty may receive up to $2,500 in a two-year cycle. Faculty who received a mini-grant for less than $2,500 in the last funding cycle are eligible to apply again for a mini-grant in this funding cycle if the total amount received over the two-year period does not exceed $2,500. Faculty who receive the maximum min-grant award of $2,500 in a single funding cycle are ineligible to apply for a mini-grant the following year.

Application components:

• Completed Qualtrics application form with Curriculum Vitae attached.
• If you are requesting funding for publication-related expenses, the application asks for the following information: brief description of the book or scholarly project and discussion of the significance of the publication for your professional development; discussion of why your choice of publisher is appropriate for this project; itemized budget; and a letter from the publisher stating the amount requested and how it will be used.
• If you are requesting funding for non-publication-related expenses, the application asks for the following information: brief description of the scholarly project; discussion of how you will use the funding to advance your scholarship; itemized budget; and explanation of the significance of the project for your broader scholarly/creative agenda and career development.
• Itemized budget: Please be as specific and detailed as possible. If requesting software or equipment purchases, please provide a link to the website with pricing information.

Evaluation Process:

The CAL Research, Awards, and Development Committee, comprised of a representative from each academic unit, will consider all eligible proposals. The Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities is a non-voting committee chair. Grants will be awarded based on the quality of the application, and applicants should recognize that funding is limited. When considering proposals with similar scores, the committee will first prioritize proposals from assistant professors, then from associate professors, and then from full professors. It will also prioritize proposals from faculty who have not received previous funding.

The committee’s recommendations are not subject to appeal; however, the committee maintains notes and, upon written request by an applicant, will provide a summary of discussion of the applicant’s proposal.

Review criteria:

• Significance: Describes why the project is important and how it advances knowledge and/or meets a need in a way that is accessible and compelling to non-specialists.
• Clarity and quality of the proposal: Clarity of expression and organization of the proposal.
• Feasibility of the project goals and proposed plan of work: Work plan is appropriate for achieving project goals. Timeline is feasible.
• Record of (or potential for) scholarly and creative productivity relative to rank: Evidence of a scholarly/creative agenda or high potential for scholarly/creative productivity (e.g., completion of projects, publications, and/or works in progress).
• Need for funding: Discusses how CAL financial support will advance the project; applicant has not received recent funding for the project. For grants for publication-related expenses, publication costs are over and above the publisher’s baseline budget.

Notification and timing of the award:

The CAL Research, Awards, and Development Committee will forward proposals recommended for funding to the dean. The dean of the College will notify grant recipients in writing in November for fall semester applicants and in March for spring semester applicants. The award will be distributed during the AY 26-27 academic year. Please note that awards are contingent on funding.

Reporting requirements and acknowledgements:

At the completion of grant-funded activities, a written report of accomplishments must be submitted to the Academic Unit Head and Dean by Monday, October 4, 2027. Any publication or exhibition resulting from the grant should acknowledge CAL funding.