Sawyer Seminars 2024
| To: | Chairs and Administrators, Departments in the Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences; Associate Deans for Research; College/School Research Administrators |
| From: | Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research |
| Date: | September 19, 2024 |
| Subject: | John E. Sawyer Seminars on the Study of Major Social and Political Challenges Impacting the University 2024 |
Deadline
| Deadline for Internal Review: | October 11, 2024 |
Project Description
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has invited UW-Madison to submit one proposal for the John E. Sawyer Seminars on the Study of Major Social and Political Challenges Impacting the University. To mark the program’s 30th year, at a time when universities and humanities study are facing a myriad of unprecedented challenges, the Mellon Foundation is reorienting the 2024 competition and beyond to the study of major social and political challenges that directly impact the structures, policies, and practices of the American university. This shift in focus celebrates the Sawyer Seminars’ original mission of elevating critical scholarship while also reframing it for our present moment by funding humanities-grounded seminars wherein multidisciplinary teams of faculty and other academic leaders collaboratively address timely issues affecting their campuses.
Each seminar normally meets for one year, though some have continued for longer periods. To allow for planning, seminars need not be scheduled for the coming academic year. The seminar should be led or co-led by humanities faculty. However, the proposed seminar should be a collaborative effort involving participation by scholars and administrators from across disciplines and units, with varying perspectives on the problem being addressed. Seminar leaders are encouraged to invite participants from nearby institutions, such as community colleges, liberal arts colleges, museums, research institutes, and local organizations to achieve interdisciplinary and community-engaged collaboration.
The subject to be considered this year is academic freedom and democracy in the American university.
Mellon seeks to support seminars that demonstrate through humanistic methods the ways in which a higher education system featuring a multiplicity of perspectives, thoughts, and voices is essential to a functional democracy. Competitive proposals will demonstrate the ways in which the humanities might reform or reimagine existing institutional structures and campus cultures. They might promise to amplify the work of a pre-existing institutional committee or envision a new committee or seminar-style initiative, with academic freedom and democracy in the American university as the central subject of inquiry.
As you consider potential approaches and humanistic methods of inquiry into the designated topic, bear in mind that Mellon and the Higher Learning program are fundamentally interested in the themes of social and racial justice. As the Foundation reviews proposals, preference will be given to those that seek to:
- Bridge the gap between the socially equitable world envisioned in much humanities scholarship and the policies and practices characterizing today’s universities;
- Empower humanists to be active participants in the strategic conversations and planning that many universities are engaged in or preparing to undertake;
- Imagine new and revised university structures that would enhance the growth of the humanities and promote the realization of more just futures.
Grant recipients would be expected to highlight and disseminate findings across campus units using a medium that best fits their campus context, such as a white paper or town hall.
Amount per Award: up to $300,000
Duration of Award: generally 1 year but possibly longer
Number of Awards: up to 20 awards
INTERNAL REVIEW
The nomination will be chosen through an internal review process using the Mellon Foundation’s preferences for this competition (see above) as well as its evaluation criteria, i.e.:
- the centrality of humanities leadership to the proposed project;
- evidence of concrete buy-in and support for the proposed structure from university administration; and
- the strength of the plan for disseminating the project’s findings across campus units to catalyze institutional transformation.
Eligibility
UW-Madison is allowed to submit one nomination.
Website
The following link contains additional information on the program and specific application instructions:
https://research.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/09/Sawyer-Seminars-Program-Overview-2024.pdf
Internal Competition Application Instructions
Applications for Internal Review
To submit a preliminary proposal, attach a single PDF to an email to: grants@research.wisc.edu.
Preliminary proposals are due no later than Friday, October 14, 2024.
The preliminary proposal should include the following components in sequence (up to 12 single-spaced pages, about 6000 words). Be sure to address each component in full.
- A one-paragraph executive summary (description of proposed work).
- The rationale for raising the indicated problem/topic, the central questions to be addressed, and the potential significance of the inquiry to be pursued, including its impact on the institution.
- A description of the cases to be studied and the humanities methodologies to be brought to bear on them; the thematic “threads” that will run through the seminar; and evidence of concrete buy-in and support from university administration.
The preliminary proposal described above should be supplemented with the following information as an appendix. This appendix does not count towards the 12-page proposal limit.
- If support for a postdoctoral fellow and/or dissertation research fellow(s) is envisioned, the procedures to be used in recruiting for these positions. Please note: hiring of postdocs or awarding dissertation research fellowships is not a requirement this year.
- A well-developed preliminary plan for the seminar that outlines the specific topics to be addressed in each session, provides the names and qualifications of the scholars and community partners who would ideally participate, and offers direction for developing a resource that summarizes and aims to institute the seminar’s findings.
- A budget and budget description as informed by the budget guidance below.
- Short CVs (1–2 pages) for the principal seminar organizers. If other participants are identified, please limit information about them to a few lines of text, either within the proposal or as part of this appendix.
BUDGET
Funding requests should not exceed $300,000 for each seminar. Funds may support: one postdoc; up to two dissertation research fellows (in the form of graduate tuition or supplemental funding); travel and living expenses for short stays by visiting scholars; costs associated with coordinating seminars, including meals, honoraria, consulting fees, and stipends. Unlike in previous years, there are no required expenditures. Funds may not be used to cover released time for regular faculty participants, rentals of university space, or indirect costs.
Budget periods should align with reporting dates that work for the institution, but the first budget period must begin with July 1, 2025. For this reason, the first period may be longer or shorter than 12 months.
The OVCR will work with the nominee to submit the application to the Mellon Foundation.
Sponsor Deadlines
Applications are due to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation by November 20, 2024.
Questions?
Contact grants@research.wisc.edu.