Dear Undergrads and Graduate Students (cc: Faculty and Staff)

The Awards and Honors Committee is pleased to announce the Stewart K. McCroskey Memorial Grant opportunity for Fall 2022. Please read the following guideline (also attached to this email) if you are interested in applying for this grant.  The Stewart K. McCroskey Memorial Fund provides funding for graduate and senior undergraduate students in the Geography Department. Please notice that the deadline is 5 pm on October 31, 2022.  Below you will find the instructions to apply for funding.  If you have any questions please email Hyun Kim ([log in to unmask]).

Sincerely,

Hyun

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GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING AND SUBMITTING PROPOSALS FOR FUNDING THROUGH
THE STEWART K. McCROSKEY MEMORIAL FUND

The Stewart K. McCroskey Memorial Fund (Fall 2022)

The Stewart K. McCroskey Memorial fund was established in 1993 by the McCroskey family to honor and foster the memory of Stewart K. McCroskey. Stewart, who was a graduate student in Geography at the time of his illness and death, was especially interested in the people of the Caribbean and their relationships to their environment. His research examined water management strategies on the dry island of Antigua, but he was sincerely interested in a wide range of geographic questions and environments. Ongoing contributions continue to strengthen the Stewart K. McCroskey memorial Fund.

Application submission deadline: Oct 31, Monday by 5pm, 2022

Purposes of the Fund

·      To provide financial support for field research: (1) up to $1,500 per application category (Geography/Sustainability) for graduate students and (2) up to $800 for undergraduate students’ research for any category contingent on annual budget and number of requests. Depending on the status of the award, federal law may require they pay taxes on the amount received.

·      To purchase specialized field equipment and supplies for student research: up to $1,000.

·      To support and help offset the cost of attending professional meetings, seminars and workshops: up to $1,000. Preference will be given to the applicants who attend conference in order to advance any sponsoring student competitions (either paper or poster) or who are invited to seminars and workshops. Note that we also consider travel support for the AAG conference up to $500 if you participate in or are invited to student competitions. We encourage graduate students to request travel support via GSS Travel Awards (https://gss.utk.edu/gss-travel-awards/) for the AAG conference. Also, see Section 4.5 of our Graduate Handbook about travel support information.   

* Please note that at this time, the award process can be suspended depending on the travel restrictions.

 

How to Apply for a Grant from the Stewart K McCroskey Memorial Fund

 

1. Submit a proposal (maximum two pages) that includes: 

·         Purpose for which funds are requested

o    Your academic status (graduate/undergraduate), Research category (e.g., Physical/Human/Geo-spatial/Sustainability), Time of support (e.g., period of field work, interview, travel, etc.)

·         How funds will be used. See examples below.

o    To purchase specialized field equipment and supplies for fieldwork research

o    To travel for field research, survey or interview

o    Attend conference, workshops, or seminars

o   To conduct undergraduate student’s research with faculty advisor

·         Amount requested, and an estimate of itemized and total project costs; 

·         Amount of funds awarded or expected from other sources (e.g., GSS), including personal funds, toward meeting the costs of the project.

·         Results from previous McCroskey awards (if applicable).

 

2.  With the proposal, include a supporting letter from a faculty advisor that specifies how funds will assist the student in their research (maximum two pages).

 

3. Proposals should be submitted by October 31, 2022, in order to guarantee consideration for funding - Email the proposal and the letter of recommendation (word document or pdf, both versions are okay) to the committee chair (Dr. Hyun Kim).

Funding Decisions:  Funding decisions are made by the Awards & Honors (A&H) Committee. The committee, appointed by the Head of the Department of Geography, normally consists of two faculty members, and two student representatives (undergraduate/graduate) from the Department. The funding committee will meet within two weeks of each proposal deadline and announces funding decisions by letter and email within a week of the meeting. The Department Head may call ad hoc meetings of the A&H Committee in special circumstances. 

Requirements of those Awarded Grants: If your proposal is funded, you will need to meet with the Geography Department Administrative Services Assistant (TBA) regarding how to file for the funds, records and receipts that must be submitted with expense vouchers, and other information pertinent to receiving reimbursement or, when essential, advance of funds for travel. Do this as soon as possible. Be forewarned that those who wait until the last minute to secure appropriate information may find that advances and/or reimbursement are not possible. 

All equipment and other expendable supplies purchased with McCroskey funds are property of the Department of Geography. 

Those awarded grants are required to write and send a thank you letter to the McCroskey Family (Jill Coupe and Hope Williamson) within a month of being notified of receiving funds. The thank you letter should be an expression of appreciation for the support and a brief description of the project being undertaken by the student and how the McCroskey Funding is essential to that project. Students should submit thank you letters to the Chair of the McCroskey Committee for review. After the Committee Chair’s review, the awardee will print it on departmental letter head and submit it to Molly Green to be mailed by the department. The awardee must also make a copy of the same for the Committee chair. The McCroskey Chair keeps copies of any reports and thank you letters that are submitted to the Department Head at the end of the academic year for record-keeping, fund-raising and audit purposes.