Faculty-Sponsored Visiting Fellow Grant

The Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement invites proposals from Colby faculty for the Center’s Visiting Fellows Program. The Visiting Fellows Program gives faculty members the opportunity to invite a scholar, politician, activist or social entrepreneur to spend a week or more at Colby. This round of funding is for fellows who can come to Colby in the fall of 2013.

Program Objectives:

● for the faculty member: a possibility to start or complete a project (e.g., a professional paper or research proposal) with a colleague from another state/country;

● for students: an opportunity to hear from, meet and interact with experts and to learn from their work and experience; and

● for the fellow: a chance to work with a colleague, access Colby’s library resources, and experience life in a small liberal arts campus.

Funding: The Goldfarb Center will offer four fellowships, each one for a maximum of $5,000. This amount is expected to cover travel, lodging, and related expenses. Any proposed honorarium for a Visiting Fellow should be based upon the program and should include possible collaboration with the host faculty member’s academic department or program or with other groups on campus.

Proposals: Applications should include the following clearly outlined information:

● a brief review of the fellow’s work (including his/her CV) and the connection to the Colby faculty member

● a brief description of the collaborative work to be undertaken during the fellow’s time at Colby

● a brief description of the connection of that work to the mission of the Goldfarb Center

● a brief plan for the contributions that the Fellow will make to the campus (i.e. planned program)

● an indication of dates during the spring semester that would be best for the Fellow’s visit

● a detailed budget that includes travel expenses, research or related materials, anticipated lodging and meal costs, as well as honorarium.  

In the case of international visitors, the faculty should be aware that he/she is responsible for working with Colby Controller Rubin Rivera and his team to obtain the appropriate U.S. visa and tax information to complete the necessary pre-visit documents. This should be done well in advance of the Fellow’s intended visit.

Product: Each Fellow’s program, to be outlined in the proposal, will be expected to include at least one public presentation by the Fellow for the Colby and greater Waterville community. Another required component is at least two opportunities for close interaction with Colby students in other forums, including but not limited to participation in classes, mealtime discussions, and counseling on research or career opportunities. The faculty host should send notification to the Goldfarb Center Faculty Coordinating Committee in advance of the Fellow’s arrival to invite possible other opportunities to engage with the Fellow. If the faculty member intends to engage in a research project with the Fellow, it is appropriate to discuss that in the proposal as well. NOTE: Included in the end product of the visit, recipients are required to submit to the Goldfarb Center Assistant Director, a detailed report of all expenses paid for by the grant money (including copies of receipts organized by date). Failure to do so will preclude future grants.

Deadline: Applications for the next round of funding are due by April 5, 2013. Please submit all materials electronically. Proposals will be evaluated by the Center’s Faculty Steering Committee, which will make a recommendation to the Goldfarb Center Director.

Further information: Questions regarding the program itself or how it has worked in the past should be addressed to Goldfarb Center Director, Dan Shea, dmshea@colby.edu, Associate Director, John Turner, jpturner@colby.edu or to one of the faculty members who hosted a Fellow in the past, e.g. Walter Hatch wfhatch@colby.edu, Jim Fleming jfleming@colby.edu, Patrice Franko pmfranko@colby.edu, Maple Razsa mjrazsa@colby.edu, or Lynne Connor ltconner@colby.edu. Questions regarding the proposed budget should be directed to Amanda Kitchen, Assistant Director, ext. 5319.