The Office of the Provost has announced a new initiative aimed at advancing scholarship related to disability among faculty and staff on the Ann Arbor campus.
The program embraces a broad definition of disability and aligns with the University of Michigan’s DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan and Vision 2034.
MORE INFORMATION
- Request for proposals
- Email questions to [email protected]
It invites proposals for interdisciplinary projects that focus on understanding and addressing the needs of faculty and staff with disabilities. Proposals are due Oct. 21, with awards to be announced in January 2025.
The initiative supports a broad array of approaches, with an emphasis on community-based projects and interdisciplinary collaboration. Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the work will contribute to the understanding or improvement of the experiences of U-M faculty and staff with disabilities. While students may be involved in the projects, the primary focus must be on staff and faculty.
“Our campus has an inspiring, committed community working on empowering people with disabilities,” said Provost Laurie McCauley. “As we live in a state where one in four people has a disability, I know we can do even more. This initiative is a catalyst and a call to action to support all of our colleagues, and I am so excited to see how our community of scholars will engage.”
Potential areas of scholarship might include media explorations of disability experiences, qualitative and quantitative studies, intervention development, workplace support systems and policy analyses. Funded projects will present their findings at annual convenings to ensure the broader campus community benefits from the scholarship.
The program offers two funding tracks:
- The Catalyst Program is open to Ann Arbor campus faculty members, including assistant, associate or full professors, research scientists or investigators, librarians, archivists and curators. It provides up to $300,000 in funding for two to three years.
- The Emerging Scholars Program is designed for Ann Arbor campus postdoctoral fellows or Ph.D. students in good standing. It offers up to $50,000 for one to two years. A faculty mentor from the Ann Arbor campus is required to support the emerging scholar’s work.
Applicants are encouraged to partner with existing campus groups and utilize available resources.
All applicants must submit a letter of intent by Oct. 1, with full proposals completed and submitted by Oct. 21. Projects selected for funding will begin between Jan. 6 and March 15, 2025.
Applicants are encouraged to review the online request for proposals or contact pvst-[email protected] for answers to any questions.
“This is an exciting opportunity to better understand and address the concerns of faculty and staff on our campus who have a disability,” said Christopher Friese, vice provost for academic and faculty affairs. “Not only will we glean new insights, but we will foster a community of scholars and apply findings from these projects to our campus.”
