Awards have been given for the 2018-19 Faculty Senate Mini-Grants. See the awardees here.

About Engagement Awards

The vision statement for JMU is “To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.”

President Alger has entrusted funds to the Faculty Senate to further the university vision. As part of this effort, the Faculty Senate is offering the opportunity for instructional faculty to apply for mini-grants (up to $5,000) to fund engagement projects. 

At JMU, engagement takes three forms:

1. Engaged Learning—Developing deep, purposeful and reflective learning, while uniting campus and community in the pursuit, creation, application and dissemination of knowledge.
2. Civic Engagement—Advancing the legacy of James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, by preparing individuals to be active and responsible participants in a representative democracy dedicated to the common good.
3. Community Engagement—Fostering mutually beneficial and reciprocal partnerships, ranging from local to global, that connect learning to practice, address critical societal problems, and improve quality of life.

Mini-grant funds may be used to support an existing engagement project or for new engagement initiatives.

Eligibility

1. All full-time JMU instructional faculty members are eligible to apply for a Faculty Senate Mini-Grant. The term “instructional faculty” is defined in the Faculty Handbook as individuals who devote at least 50 percent of their appointment to teaching and research functions of the university. Academic unit heads are defined as instructional faculty members.
2. Part-time and adjunct JMU faculty who have primary responsibility for the teaching of for-credit courses and have been continuously employed by JMU in such capacity for at least six consecutive semesters (three academic years) are eligible to apply for a Faculty Senate Mini-Grant. The status of part-time and adjunct faculty is defined in the Manual of Policies and Procedures, Policy 2104.
3. Those not eligible to apply for a Faculty Senate Mini-Grant include classified staff members, administrative and professional (A&P) faculty, emeritus faculty, visiting faculty, scholars in residence, and researchers, as those terms are defined in the Faculty Handbook or university policies.
4. Priority will be given to applicants who have not received mini-grant funds in the previous two years, but funding decisions will ultimately be based on proposal merit as defined by the judgment criteria (high-quality engagement, relevant expertise, and clarity and feasibility).
5. For eligible applicants, resubmission of last year’s proposal is acceptable.

Timeline

• The award cycle for 2018-19 is complete. Check back in fall 2019 for more information.

Application Process

Click on this form, which asks for the following:

1. Your name, email and other information
2. The name of your project and which engagement area it entails
3. A 500-word description of your engagement initiative and explanation of your relevant expertise.
4. A brief project timeline.
5. A short budget breakdown.

The steering committee reserves the right to request more information during the decision process.

Judgement Criteria

The Faculty Senate Vision Mini-Grant Steering Committee hopes to fund initiatives of all three kinds (engaged learning, community engagement and civic engagement). Engagement initiatives that address multiple areas of engagement are encouraged.  

Mini-grant applications will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Extent to which the proposed initiative will promote high-quality engagement within one or more of the three engagement types.
2. Extent to which the applicant possesses the relevant expertise to realize the project’s goals.
3. Clarity and feasibility of the project’s budget and timeline.

If you have questions, feel free to contact the chair of the Faculty Senate Vision Mini-Grant Steering Committee, Steven Harper (harpe2sr@jmu.edu).