Public Goods Council (PGC)
Grants for Teaching

2008

Rolling Deadline
until available funds are expended

Public Goods Council Grant Application in MS Word Format

INTRODUCTION

Public engagement and new forms of interdisciplinary teaching and research have never been more important.  At the University of Michigan, we have tremendous opportunities to build bridges between theory and practice, and between the public and the university, through our great cultural resources.  With this motivation, and with the desire to increase undergraduate students’ use of cultural resources while they are in college, the U-M Public Goods Council (PGC) offers a grants program to encourage greater faculty use of the Council’s resources in teaching undergraduates.

The PGC is a cluster of University organizations dedicated to the advancement of scholarship and culture through music, works of art, special collections, historical archives, natural science resources, other scholarly resources, performance programs, coursework and experiential learning.  Members include Arts of Citizenship, Arts at Michigan, Bentley Historical Library, Clements Library, Exhibit Museum of Natural History, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Museum of Anthropology, Museum of Art, Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, University Library, and University Musical Society. 

The PGC invites proposals for projects that draw on public culture and cultural institutions to engage undergraduates and help shape their education. As many as eight grants of up to $2,500 will be awarded from a fund provided by the Provost’s Office for course-related projects developed in collaborations between faculty members and Public Goods Council members.  (Click here http://sitemaker.umich.edu/pgcgrantawards/home to see a list of previous grant recipients and their project titles.)

FUNDING PRIORITIES

Priority will be given to proposals that accomplish the following: 

* Empower students to engage actively with primary historical resources and public culture in both experiential and intellectual ways.  Some examples might include:

• understanding public culture as socially produced knowledge,
• appreciating transformations of public culture over time, or in different places and time,
• encountering voices and experiences from the past by working in archival collections,
• studying the role of museums, archives, and libraries in our understanding of the past,
• examining civic engagement:  what does this mean?  what forms does it take?
• investigating social transformation and the arts,
• learning about global perspectives, including variations and issues in arts and public culture transnationally,
• researching how public projects, events, performances and/or collections help us understand dynamics of social equity and social justice.

* Integrate the funded project in other course content through discussion, critique, performance, and/or other creative and analytical work.

* Identify ways to document the project, as a model for others, and for identifying student learning.

While priority will be given to projects whose outcomes are incorporated in a specific course, proposals that stimulate undergraduate learning in other contexts will also be considered.

ELIGIBILITY

*Lecturers must have a continuing appointment.

PROPOSAL CONTENT

An applicant should prepare a brief (1-2 page) proposal that includes a discussion of the following:

• Project goals.
• Project relationship to stated funding priorities. Also, indicate how success of the project will be evaluated (student self-report, documentation of student learning, etc.).
• Project scope. Indicate the number of students, GSIs, faculty members, and PGC members who will be involved.
• Project timeline (please note if the project is time-sensitive, that is, could it happen only during a specific visit, a specific season, etc.)
• An itemized budget (please include any additional sources from which you are seeking funds and their status).

FUNDING

FUNDING PERIOD

Priority will be given to projects that are part of a course scheduled to be taught during the 2008-2009 academic year, including spring and summer terms. Proposals for projects planned for the 2009-2010 academic year will also be considered.

HELPFUL TIPS

Goals of the Project. What do you want to accomplish, for the students, through this project? How does the proposal relate to students needs, to the professional development of faculty and staff involved, to departmental (both academic and PGC) and college priorities?

Collaborative Design. What collaborations in planning have you already begun? How do you expect to proceed in working together?

Project Implementation.What specifically does the project entail? What activities are to be carried out, by whom, and how will logistics (if appropriate) be arranged? 

Teaching Approaches.  How will students be prepared for involvement in this project, and what plans do you have for debriefing this component of the course?  What teaching approaches will be used and how this segment, unit, experience, and/or assignment will be incorporated into the course as a whole?

Impact on Learning.   If this project works, what difference will it make? How will it contribute to the realization of your teaching goals? What effect will it have on your class, your students? What methods will you use to get student feedback?  

DEADLINE

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

Electronic copies of the application form are available for download:
Public Goods Council Grant Application in MS Word Format. 
Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to pgcgrants@umich.edu. 

FUNDING DECISIONS

ASSISTANCE WITH PROPOSALS

PROJECTS FUNDED IN THE PAST

CRLT • University of Michigan • 1071 Palmer Commons • 100 Washtenaw Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2218
Phone: (734) 764-0505  •  Fax: (734) 647-3600  •  Email: crlt@umich.edu
- Directions to CRLT -

Copyright © 2004 The Regents of the University of Michigan