CLAS Faculty Travel Grant

Purpose

CLAS is pleased to announce the availability of faculty travel grants to support professional development, sponsored by Title VI National Resource Center funding. Please read the following guidelines below prior to submitting your application. In order to be awarded a Faculty Travel Grant, you must explain why your travel not only advances your career, but also how it benefits Latin American Studies at Ohio State.

How can I use grant funds?

  • Travel expenses for professional development related to Latin America (both domestic and international travel permissible).
  • Reimbursable expenses include airfare/mileage, ground transportation and parking, meals (per diem or receipts), and lodging. We cannot pay conference registration fees.

Eligibility

Application Instructions

When should I submit my application?

Faculty Travel Grant Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.  If you are traveling to an international destination, we must request approval from the U.S. Department of Education at least 45 days in advance of departure.  We do not offer retroactive rewards and are unable to award any travel that occurs before the application review and award period. 

How do I complete and submit my application?

  • Review the CLAS Faculty Travel Grant guidelines below.
  • Submit your documents via email to CLAS Director, Dr. Scott Schwenter (schwenter.1@osu.edu), and CLAS Assistant Director, Dr. Leila Vieira (vieira.31@osu.edu)

What are the application components?

  • Proposal - A 500-word document that demonstrates the benefits of travel to ALL of the following: the individual, the individual’s department/college, and the university as a whole. Applications that do not include these benefits will not be considered.
  • Itemized Budget allocating how funds will be utilized. Applicants must also include relevant budget documentation that supports the budget request (airfare, lodging estimates, links to conference details, sample travel itinerary, estimates for other expenses). Applications that do not include budget details will not be considered.
  • CV - no longer than three pages

Documentation to support budget requests can be combined into one file with your application or sent as separate attachments. 

Selection

Funds will be awarded on a rolling basis. Priority will be given to travel supporting indigenous language and/or culture studies as well as travel that supports publication. Grants are awarded based on available funds and the following:

  • The applicant meets all eligibility requirements
  • The submitted application is complete and includes required proposal, budget information, and curriculum vitae
  • The application proposal demonstrates benefits to ALL of the following: the individual, the individual’s department/college, and the university as a whole.

Please note: Applicants who have not previously received a grant are given priority consideration. Retroactive funding is not provided.

Travel Details

Do I need a Spend Authorization?

If you have confirmed funding from another university source or department, please notify CLAS as soon as possible so that we may coordinate the submission of your travel and payment requests. If ours are the only university funds you will be applying to your travel, CLAS will be happy to submit the Spend Authorization for you. 

 

Examples of previously funded projects

  • Stephanie Smith of the Dept. of History traveled to Washington DC in July 2021 to study Frida Kahlo's letters at the National Museum of Women in the Arts:

"Thanks in part to the support of a Center for Latin American Studies research grant, I was able to take a short research trip to the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) during July, 2021. Located in the Washington, D.C. the NMWA holds numerous letters by Frida Kahlo to her family members and friends, and their letters to Kahlo in return. Given the importance of these documents, they were crucial to the writing of my new book, Through Frida’s Eyes: Frida Kahlo and the Creative Women Who Radicalized Mexico. Additionally, the museum closed for about two years of renovations beginning in July, 2021, but since COVID delayed my long-planned trip, the archive staff graciously accommodated my visit. Overall, I am quite grateful for CLAS’s support of my project on Frida Kahlo. Year after year, CLAS has proved to be an immensely valuable resource for those of us who work on Latin America at Ohio State!"