Whitman
Search for
Faculty-Student Research Opportunities
Quick Jump Menu
Abshire Award
Dublin Award
Perry Award

All research conducted by Whitman College faculty or students involving human participants, regardless of funding source, must be submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review. See: www.whitman.edu/irb

 

Abshire Research Scholar Award

Applications are due:
        Spring 2009 semester: Friday, November 14, 2008

        Fall 2009 semester: Friday, April 10, 2008 

Abshire Research Scholar Awards are given each semester to a number student/faculty teams. Students are nominated by Whitman professors having a need for assistance and/or research in their scholarly pursuits. The professors and students will be selected on the basis of merit. No discipline will receive priority over another.

Student Abshire scholars may earn up to $800 for the semester. The selected students are expected to assist their professors in their projects for 5-8 hours per week. The awards may be made for a period of two semesters if the project so warrants.

The ASID Committee wishes to emphasize the following criteria:

  • The proposed project should involve the student intellectually and not merely as a tool for mechanical kinds of research.
  • Professors should choose truly excellent students and should include a rationale for the choice of a particular student.
  • Although publication of the results of the project is not required, the project should be of sufficient professional quality that publication could be considered possible.
  • The project and its methodology should have a strong relationship to the professor's usual or current pattern of research.

To apply, please submit the following to the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, c/o Susan Bennett, Memorial #308. The ASID Committee will select the recipients.

  1. Description of the research you intend to pursue
  2. Budget detailing projected expenditures for materials relating to your project
  3. Name and qualifications of the student who will assist you
  4. Statement from the student concerning his/her qualifications
  5. Copies of your vita and the student’s advisor’s report or transcript
    (Does not need to be an official transcript)

Adam Dublin Award

Proposals are due by Friday, November 14 2008

The Dublin Award was established by Chair of the Whitman College Board of Trustees, Karen E. "Kari" Glover, '72, and her husband, Thaddas L. Alston to support scholarly or creative work relating to multiculturalism in the United States or abroad. The Award is named for the late Adam Dublin, ’96, in memory of his positive spirit and his commitment to diversity while a student at Whitman. 

The grant will be divided into two $1,000 stipends, one for the student and one for the faculty member. In addition, up to $500 may be used to defray documented expenses of the project. 

The types of projects that can be funded include:

  • Quantitative or qualitative research projects
  • Senior theses
  • Creative writing projects
  • Visual arts projects
  • Musical compositions or lecture recitals
  • Video documentaries
  • One-act plays
  • Others as deemed appropriate by the selection committee

The award will go to the one or two projects that address issues of global multiculturalism in the most challenging, original, and well-prepared way. Academic rigor and creative originality will be criteria. Projects may focus on a particular ethnic or racial community in a specific country or look more broadly at the interactions between communities. Projects may concentrate on the United Sates, or study issues of multiculturalism in other countries or at the global level. 

The selection committee will be looking for evidence of collaboration between student and faculty. Even if the student is ultimately responsible for the writing of the project (as in the case of a senior thesis), the committee will be interested in how the faculty advisor will be helping the student and how the student’s research affects or informs the faculty member’s work.

A public presentation of the research or creative project is required at the end of the academic year in which the award is given. Both the student and the faculty member should speak at this event.

All current students and faculty at Whitman College are eligible to apply. Proposals must be signed by both the student and the faculty member. A complete proposal will consist of the following: 

  • The members of the team and their qualifications.
  • The nature and scope of the project, identifying the main issue it will cover.
  • The significance of the project.
  • The logistics of completing the project within the academic year.
  • The form that the public presentation will take.

Proposals should be submitted to the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, c/o Susan Bennett, Memorial #308, by Friday, November 14 2008. The ASID Committee will select the recipients.

 

Louis B. Perry Research Award

Applications are due by Friday, February 13, 2009

Louis B. Perry, Overseer Emeritus, served as the 8th President of Whitman College from 1959 to 1967. The Louis B. Perry Summer Research Scholarship has been established to honor his continuing leadership in the Whitman community. Funds for this endowment came from the Hewlett Foundation, the Sherwood Trust, the Horn estate, and several other donors.

The purpose of the Perry Summer Research Scholarship is to encourage faculty to recruit and employ Whitman College students (typically those who will be returning as juniors or seniors in the fall) to join them as collaborators in their professional scholarship; research undertakings that will often lead to a paper, a book, or a creative work of some type. This will allow Whitman faculty to have an intern or research assistant to help them in their work. It will also be a rich learning opportunity for students to gain first-hand knowledge of the methods and challenges of sustained scholarly work.

Grants for the summer of 2009, to be used for a nine-week period between May 25 and August 25, may be up to $8,000 for each student/faculty team. No more than $6,000 will be paid in student and faculty stipends (maximum $3,000 each), and student stipends must be no less than $2,000, with the remainder of the budget ($2,000) to be used to defer supplies, equipment or travel expense. All stipends are taxable and faculty stipends will be subject to OPE charges. Each team proposal should include a budget. Please note: any equipment purchased for use in this research will remain the property of Whitman College.

The following criteria will be considered by the selection committee:

  • The project and its methodology should have a close relationship to a professor’s research agenda and teaching interests.
  • Preference will be given to Whitman College tenure-track professors.
  • Preference will be given to excellent students who are able to work with professors in their field of study and who can make the commitment to be a full-time summer research assistant.
  • The proposed research project should be truly collaborative and it would involve the student intellectually.
  • Although publication or the equivalent is not required, the summer research project should be of sufficient professional quality that publication or the equivalent should be considered possible.

Professor-student teams will be selected on the basis of merit. Consideration will be given to the successful completion of previous Perry awards. A 1-2 page report describing work completed and resulting presentations or publication is required.

To apply, please submit the following to the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, c/o Susan Bennett, Memorial #308, by Friday, February 13, 2009. The ASID Committee will select the recipients.

  1. A two or three page proposal about the research, including a summary of background literature related to the status of the problem - carefully explain how the student will be involved in the project
  2. Names and qualifications of team members
  3. A proposed budget
  4. Faculty member vita
  5. Student transcript or advisor's report
    (Does not need to be an official transcript)