Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Board meet?
How does the funding cycle work?
Can my grant be deferred if my project is delayed?
Can funding be applied for retroactively?
What about projects that are initiated over the summer, or in between Board meetings?
Does the Center fund conference travel?
What is the difference between funding for research support and funding provided via stipends?
How do I acknowledge the Center's support, access my funds, and submit grant reports?
Who is eligible to serve on the Board, and how are people elected?

When does the Board meet?

The Board of the Center for the Humanities meets monthly in the fall and spring terms. To ensure consideration at any given meeting, applications must be submitted one week in advance of the meeting date. Visit the webpages for specific grants to find dates and deadlines for upcoming terms.

How does the funding cycle work?

The Center's budget operates within the fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. In January of a given calendar year, we begin considering grants to be spent within the coming fiscal year, July 1 of the current calendar year to June 30 of the next.

Can my grant be deferred if my project is delayed?

Grants should be spent within the fiscal year for which they were awarded. Under unusual circumstances, the Board will consider a request to defer all or part of the funds. Grant recipients must submit a request for approval by the Board’s May meeting, if they foresee delays in their project that will carry any expenses past June 30. Requests for approval must include an explanation of delays and an adjusted timeline. These may be submitted by email to the Director.

The above policy only applies to projects that are delayed and remain significantly unchanged. If delays are related to any changes in the specific activities or expenditures approved within the scope of the original grant, then recipients must re-apply for new funding.

Can funding be applied for retroactively?

In general, faculty should plan to request funding in advance of upcoming expenditures, and, in many funding categories, requests for retroactive funding will not be considered. However, in the case of materials, services, and travel expenses, faculty may inquire with the Director if extenuating circumstances arise. Faculty who apply for grants to cover expenses already made assume the risk that the expenses will not be approved or reimbursed. In the case of retroactive requests for funding, these must be submitted by the next Board meeting immediately following the purchase. Requests for funding submitted at any later meeting after the purchase date will not be considered.

What about projects that are initiated over the summer, or in between Board meetings?

All efforts should be made to apply for funding in advance of any projects. However, faculty may request up to $500 from the Director's discretionary budget for expenses that arise during the summer and must be paid before the deadline for the first meeting of the fall term.

Does the Center fund conference travel?

In general, the Center does not provide funding for conference travel. The standard Travel Grants are for research-related activities, including archival research, site visits, and conducting interviews. The only exceptions include the Supplemental International Conference Travel Grant, which may be paired with another source of university funding, including Arts and Sciences travel grants and awards from Drake International, to supplement the cost of attending an international conference; and the Sabbatical Support Program available to faculty during their sabbatical year, which can be applied toward a variety of research activities including conference travel.

What is the difference between funding for research support and funding provided via stipends?

The following information pertains to the funding options available via the Pre-Promotion Grant and Humanites Research Scholar Award.

Funding for research support (or research underwriting) covers various costs of research, including travel, materials, and services. The Center can reimburse recipients for costs (usually via Paymerang or other university channels) or can, at times, make purchases directly on behalf of recipients.  

Funding via a stipend is provided as additional income through payroll. The key difference is that stipends are taxed, but research support funds are not.

In practice, this means that $3000 in research underwriting can cover exactly $3000 worth of expenses; but a $3000 stipend will amount to approximately $2250 in additional income (depending on the recipient's own payroll tax rate). On its part, the Center must pay an additional 38% in benefits for stipends (meaning that we pay $4140 for the $3000 example above). In general, the Center strongly encourages research funding instead of stipends whenever possible, since the former is almost always more cost effective for both the Center and the recipient.

How do I acknowledge the Center's support, access my funds, and submit grant reports?

After completing a funded project, recipients must submit a grant report to the Center. These should be submitted before the end of the fiscal year for which the grant was awarded. Although there is no single format for grant reports, commonly these may be submitted via email to the Director, by giving a talk for the Colloquium Series, or by submitting materials to be featured on the Funded Projects page. See full details on grant acknowledgement, management, and reporting under Recipient Resources.

Who is eligible to serve on the Board, and how are people elected?

We interpret humanistic inquiry broadly, and faculty from across all the colleges are eligible to serve on the Board (as they are to receive funding). However, the Board cannot contain more than two representatives from the same department at one time.

Two faculty members rotate off the Board every year, and elections are held annually. Nominations are usually solicited in March, and elections are held in April. Board members are elected via an online ballot distributed to the Center's email list. Incoming Board members are invited to attend the Board's last spring meeting.