Request for Proposals
The University of Iowa Obermann Center for Advanced Studies

Invites all UI faculty to submit proposals
to design and direct the
Summer 2009
Research Seminar

 

Deadline: Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 5 pm

Click here for a printer-friendly PDF version of these guidelines

The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies and the Office of the Vice President for Research invite all UI tenure track faculty members in all fields to submit proposals to design and direct the Center’s Summer 2009 Research Seminar. One grant of $45,000 will be awarded.

Obermann Research Seminars bring together anywhere from 8 to 12 UI and visiting scholars and researchers for 1-3 weeks for sustained interaction at the Obermann Center. Seminars generally are held between June 1 and July 30. The Obermann Seminar format involves extensive group discussion of each participant’s draft paper, so as to result in a collection of essays to be submitted to a press or journal. 

Under these guidelines, (1) either tenured or tenure track UI faculty may apply to direct a seminar, (2) the seminar may be disciplinary or interdisciplinary (3) the seminar director may competitively select all of the participants or directly invite some of the participants. Participants will include some from UI but most from other institutions. Two UI faculty members may co-direct the seminar if they are in different departments.  

Up to $45,000 is available for director and participant stipends, speaker fees, student assistants and administrative costs. The Seminar Director will work closely with the Obermann Center to develop the final plan, schedule, and budget for the seminar.

The Obermann Center provides meeting rooms, offices with computers and internet connections, as well as a variety of support services, including library delivery service.  The Center will handle all administrative, financial, and housing details associated with the seminar.

Here are some hypothetical examples of seminar configurations:

A UI professor of English proposes a seminar on memoir, which will employ an international competition to select ten writers and scholars from UI and other institutions.

A UI engineering professor and law professor propose an interdisciplinary seminar on sustainability, identify five participants from UI and other institutions, and propose an international competition to select four other participants.

A UI professor of education proposes a seminar on testing, identifies four UI colleagues as participants, and proposes a national competition designed to select five participants from other U.S. universities.

Past seminars have explored topics ranging from presidential elections to opera to stored human tissues.   

Obermann Summer Research Seminars are funded by the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, the C. Esco and Avalon L. Obermann Endowment, and the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Guidelines for Preparing Proposals

Please submit only one proposal.  Please write your proposal so that it will inform and engage reviewers who may not be familiar with the proposed area of scholarship.

Reviewers will use the following criteria to judge the proposals:

• the importance of the topic;
• the likelihood that the proposed seminar will significantly advance research on the topic;
• the strength of the confirmed or potential seminar participants;
• the likelihood that the seminar will lead to an important publication;
• the director’s record of research or creative activity in the proposed area and the likelihood that the director(s) can attract applicants, lead a productive seminar, and develop a publication.
• If applicable, published results from any previous Obermann Grants. 

If an applicant previously received a grant from the Obermann Center, the results of that grant may also be taken into consideration.

Applications should contain all of the following material:

1. A cover sheet that includes:
   • the title of the proposed seminar;
   • the tentative dates of the seminar (any 1-3 week period between June 1-July 30, 2009);
   • the name/rank, department, office address, telephone number and e-mail address of the seminar director(s).
      
2. A narrative (3-5 pages, single-spaced) that answers these questions:
   • Why is the topic important? 
   • How will the seminar build on and advance scholarship on the proposed topic?  What issues are to be explored? What questions are to be answered?  
   • What anticipated scholarly products will result from the seminar?
   • What experience does the director have in leading or participating in collaborative efforts?
   • Who are the participants?  If you wish to select participants to serve as a core group or majority, please attach brief descriptions of their scholarly work or biosketches or brief CVs, which include rank, institution, degrees, and relevant publications. If you choose to hold a competition to attract the majority of participants, please indicate the kinds of researchers who might be interested and, if applicable, identify UI faculty who might be interested in applying. We encourage seminars that involve a few UI faculty, whether personally invited or selected through a competition. 
      
3. The director’s biosketch or curriculum vitae (3 pages including degrees, appointments, relevant publications and grants, recent internal and external grants and the projects the supported). Append a list of any previous Obermann grants and publications that resulted from each grant.
   

No budget is required at this time.  The director(s) of the selected seminar will work with the Obermann Center to develop a final plan and budget.  

Interested UI faculty members are encouraged to contact Jay Semel (jay-semel@uiowa.edu, 335-4034) to discuss ideas and proposal preparation.

Signatures: Please have your DEO email an endorsement of the proposed project to Neda Barrett (neda-barrett@uiowa.edu, 335-4034). 

Submission and deadline: Please email your proposal as an attachment to neda-barrett@uiowa.edu no later than Tuesday April 15, 2008, 5 PM.

Deadline: Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 5 pm