Supporting Innovative Ideas & Programs in the College

Deadlines:

Fall Mini-Grants – October 15 annually

Spring Mini-Grants – March 15 annually

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Ƶ College, the College of Arts and Sciences, is accepting applications for just-in-time funding initiative annually – ECAS Dean Mini Grants.

The Dean’s Office has set aside monies for seed funds to support innovative ideas and programs in the College. Faculty and faculty/students will be able to submit proposals for ideas that are “innovative” in whatever way you think of the word. We hope that these funded ideas will lead to further, more substantial funding from either within the university or outside agencies and institutions. These funds need to be used within the fiscal year they are awarded (May 31 annually).

Funding will be up to $500 for a total of eight to 12 awards each fall and spring cycle. Decisions and award notifications will be made within two weeks of the deadline.

Priority will be given to applications with:

  • Clearly innovative projects
  • First time applicants
  • Initiatives that align with Boldly Ƶ and program goals including:
    • Deepening student engagement and inclusive community building
    • Enhancing curricular or co-curricular experiences through mentoring
    • Championing and supporting exceptional faculty and staff
    • Positioning your program for growth and success

Components of :

  • Name (PI)
  • Lead Organization/Program
  • Collaborators (if applicable)
  • Collaborator programs/organizations (if applicable)
  • Description of idea, program, or initiative for which you are requesting funding.
  • Description of how the idea, program, or initiative will advance your program goals and ignite long-term and bold outcomes.
  • Total amount requesting (up to $500)
  • Breakdown of budget
  • Previous funding from other sources to support this work? If so, describe.
  • Projected deliverable so we can share your project progress and success.

Spring ‘26 Mini Grant Awards

  • The Power + Place Collaborative, PI Jacob Rutz, Assistant Teaching Professor of Environmental Studies
  • Student Engagement Subcommittee of AI-Critical Faculty Working Group, PI Susanne Shawyer, Associate Professor of Theatre
  • First-Year Writing (ENG1100) Program, PI Heather Lindenman, Associate Professor of English

Fall ‘25 Mini Grant Awards

  • Art Collection Donor Oral History Exhibition: A Alumni-Ƶ Student Mentoring Project, PI Evan Gatti, Professor of Art History
  • Food and Foodways: Ethnography of Food in Alamance County, PI Pamela Runestad, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Danielle Lake, Professor of Human Service Studies
  • Faculty Workshops in Art, PI Jeanine Hill, Assistant Professor of Art
  • Women in STEM Retreat, PI Kelsey Bitting, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
  • Partners in Crime & Justice: A Public Awareness Campaign for Sustainable Alamance, PI Prudence Layne, Associate Professor of English
  • Recruiting Students: Benefit of Philosophy Workshops, PI Ryan Johnson, Associate Professor of Philosophy
  • We Are Here: Black Women at the Heart of Ƶ, PI Kayla Higbee, Assistant Professor of Performing Arts
  • “Nerdy Night Out” at Powell House, PI Evan Gatti, Professor of Art History and Madelyn Fourie ‘28
  • Environmental Studies Senior Seminar, PI Michael Strickland, Assistant Teaching Professor of Environmental Studies and English and Jacob Rutz, Assistant Teaching Professor of Environmental Studies
  • The Most Banned Book and Author in America: A Linked Course Conversation on Fifty Years of Stephen King’s “Carrie,” PI Dan Burns, Assistant Professor of English and Maggie Kelly, Assistant Professor of English
  • Issues in African Art” Exhibitions Creation, PI Taylor Hunkins, Adjunct Professor of Art History
  • Celebrating IGS: Interactive World Map that Celebrates the Program’s Global Reach, PI Andrea Sinn, Associate Professor of History

Spring ‘25 Mini Grant Awards

  • Participation in Leadership Alamance to support work in Community-Based Learning Scholars program, PI Pamela Runestad, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
  • Mentoring Book Discussions Across Labs – Building Community, PI Sabrina Perkins, Associate Professor of Psychology, Co-Investigator Professor of Psychology
  • Institutional, Curricular, and Pedagogical Interventions in Political Science to Support Diversity, and Equity, Inclusion Initiatives, PI Kaye Usry, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy , External collaborators as Co-Investigators
  • CPR and First Aid Instructor Certification to Support Commmunity-Based Learning in Human Service Studies, PI Jessica Navarro, Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies
  • Field Research on Endocrinology and Sociality in Herpetofauna (FRESH) Lab Research Project, PI Lynea Witczak Oldfather, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Student Collaborator, Luke Carter
  • Designing and Producing Games in a Dystopian Fiction Course, PI Kevin Bourque, Associate Professor of English
  • Developing a Filtration Media for Removing Estrogen and Glyphosate from Wastewater, Runoff, and Municipal Water, PI Will Pluer, Student collaborators, Kate Becksvoort and Lily Grace McCann
  • Celebrating the Publication of the PaRDeS 2024 Special Issue titled “Biographical Research in the Digital Age”, PI Andrea Sinn, Associate Professor of History
  • Kodo, Gankogui, and Axatses Percussion Instruments for West African Dance Courses, PI Keisha Wall Gee, Assistant Professor of Dance