REES small grants will be awarded through two competitions, open to all REES faculty, full-time and part-time.  The Fall competition will award funds for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year; that is, before 1 July 2007.  The Spring competition will award funds for expenses to be incurred during the next fiscal year. Course development grants will be awarded separately, following a separate competition.

Course development grants will be awarded separately, following a separate competition. REES graduate students should apply separately for small grants, and not in the faculty competitions.

Faculty small grants will be awarded in support of professional activity.  The small grants will be for amounts up to $1,500.00 and are intended primarily to supplement other research funds.  The REES small grant cover sheet should accompany an application, and a request for a small grant should also include a clear description of the professional activity to be supported, accompanied by a brief budget that justifies expenditure of the amount requested.

UCIS requires us to require all applicants to gain IRB clearance, or exemption, before awards may be given.  Therefore, an IRB form must be submitted with the application.  The relevant university regulation reads as follows:

“All research involving interventions or interactions with individuals or the collection of identifiable private information concerning living individuals requires prospective Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Grantees are responsible for obtaining IRB approval when required, and must provide documentation of IRB approval before a grant can be awarded. For further information, check the IRB web site at www.irb.pitt.edu.”

REES small grants are awarded on the basis of selection committee recommendations. For more information on the selection process and priorities, please contact REES Director Robert M. Hayden.

The deadline for the Fall small grants competition is November 30, 2006.  Results will be announced as soon as possible after the selection committee makes its decisions.  The Spring 2007 competition will have a deadline soon after the Spring recess.

Download REES small grant application cover sheet

REES Language Module Development Grants Competition

The Center for Russian and East European Studies is pleased to announce a faculty grants competition to support the development of original language modules to be offered in conjunction with area studies courses to be taught in 2007-08. The submission deadline for language module grant applications is Friday, January 12, 2007.

Purpose. Proposals are sought to develop add-on original language modules for existing non-language undergraduate area studies courses.  Such modules will require students to use materials in a language of the REES region to enhance their study of the politics, cultures, economies and societies of Central/Eastern Europe, Russia or the former USSR, thus increasing their foreign language proficiency related to the subject area of the course.  Students who choose to register for the original language module should receive an additional academic credit beyond the standard number of credits given for that course.  At his/her discretion, the instructor may also offer students an option to register only for the one-credit language module, without registering for the associated area studies course.  In the application, the instructor should specify the level of proficiency in the target language that will be required for students to register for the original language module.

Instructors are encouraged to consider non-traditional modes of delivery for original language modules, such as the posting of reading and writing assignments on a course website.  Although the instructor should plan to be available for individual consultations with students enrolled in the module, original language modules will not necessarily involve formal classroom instruction.  Applications should explain how the instructor will monitor and evaluate the progress of students enrolled in the module.

Scope of Awards. Up to two awards will be made in this round. Funds may be requested to support a variety of activities. Examples include:

• acquisition of special instructional materials (e.g., databases, monographs, periodicals, films or electronic media)
• bibliographic searches
• the writing and production of original resource materials, exercises or handbooks
• payments to students for assistance in any aspect of course development.

Funds awarded for module development grant activities must be spent by July 31, 2007.

Grants may not be used for the purchase of equipment, for travel to meetings or conferences (unless travel is specifically for the purpose of language module development), or to support research unrelated to original language module development. The source of these funds is REES’s National Resource Center (Title VI) award from the US Department of Education; module development spending must comply with US/ED budgetary regulations.

Eligibility. REES regular faculty from all SAS departments; from professional schools offering undergraduate degrees; and from all branch campuses are eligible to apply. We encourage group and joint faculty proposals as well as those from individuals.

Faculty not previously associated with REES are encouraged to discuss possible original language modules with REES Director Robert Hayden or Assistant Director Gina Peirce.

Application/Selection Process. Applicants should submit the following by Friday, January 12, 2007.

• a short (5-page double-spaced maximum) plan of module development activities;
• an itemized budget, with short justification;
• a current curriculum vitae if the applicant is not previously affiliated with REES;
• a cover letter indicating the semester(s) in which the grant is to be used and listing other sources of funding being sought by the applicant (if any); and
• a letter of agreement from the chairperson of the applicant’s department if the applicant is to be released from teaching responsibilities during any portion of the module development activities.
  

Applicants are encouraged to discuss specifics of the above with REES Director Robert Hayden or Assistant Director Gina Peirce prior to submitting the formal application.

Each proposal will be reviewed by a faculty committee.  Notification of awards for this round of the grants competition will occur by February 2007.

For further information, contact Gina Peirce, REES Assistant Director, 4414 Posvar Hall; phone: 412-648-2290; e-mail: gbpeirce@pitt.edu.

REES Course Development Grants Competition

The Center for Russian and East European Studies is pleased to announce a competition for course development grants for next year (Fall 2007 – Summer 2008). The submission deadline is Friday, January 12, 2007.

Purpose. Proposals are sought that enhance undergraduate teaching on the politics, cultures, economies and societies of Central/Eastern Europe, Russia or the former USSR . Grant awards can be used to 1) create a new course, or 2) add significant coverage of this region of the world to an existing course.

We encourage development of courses that are innovative in content or form; that draw on materials from more than one discipline; and that challenge students to think about developments in the region from a broader comparative perspective. Courses that can be taken to fulfill the SAS foreign culture requirement (international/region/comparative/non-Western) are especially welcome, as are those that are designed to introduce freshmen and sophomores to the study of our region. New or enhanced courses supported by this program should be incorporated into the given academic department’s regular offerings as soon as possible.

Scope of Awards. Up to three awards may be made in this round. Funds may be requested to support a variety of activities. Examples include:

• acquisition of special instructional materials (databases, monographs, films or electronic media)
• bibliographic searches
• the writing and production of original resource materials, exercises or handbooks
• payments to students for assistance in any aspect of course development

Funds awarded for course development grant activities must be spent by July 31, 2007.

Grants may not be used for the purchase of equipment, for travel to meetings or conferences, or to support research unrelated to course development. The source of these funds is REES’s National Resource Center (Title VI) award from the US Department of Education; course development spending must comply with US/ED budgetary regulations.

Eligibility. REES regular faculty from all SAS departments; from professional schools offering undergraduate degrees; and from all branch campuses are eligible to apply. We encourage group and joint faculty proposals as well as those from individuals.

Faculty not previously associated with REES are encouraged to discuss possible courses with REES Director Robert Hayden or Assistant Director Gina Peirce.

Application/Selection Process. Applicants should submit the following by Friday, January 12, 2007.

• a short (5-page double-spaced maximum) plan of course development activities;
• an itemized budget, with short justification;
• a current curriculum vitae if the applicant is not previously affiliated with REES;
• a cover letter indicating the semester(s) in which the grant is to be used and listing other sources of funding being sought by the applicant (if any); and
• a letter of agreement from the chairperson of the applicant’s department if the applicant is to be released from teaching responsibilities during any portion of the course development activities.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss specifics of the above with REES Director Robert Hayden or Assistant Director Gina Peirce prior to submitting the formal application.

Each proposal will be reviewed by a faculty committee. Notification of awards for this round of the grants competition will occur by February 2007.

For further information, contact Gina Peirce, REES Assistant Director, 4414 Posvar Hall; phone: 648-2290; e-mail: gbpeirce@pitt.edu.