The Shearman Grant Program

Purpose

The Shearman Research Initiative Fund provides financial support for faculty efforts to conduct original research, pursue creative expression, provide faculty development initiatives, and/or engage in research endeavors that foster student participation. These funds should be used in such a way that will encourage scholarly activities above and beyond what the grant is funding. Project Investigators selected to receive support will be designated Shearman Research Fellows.

Administration

Proposals are submitted to the Doré School of Graduate Studies (DSGS) and are peer reviewed by the Graduate Council (GC). The council includes at least one faculty member from each academic college and one graduate student representative. The GC makes all award decisions. All Shearman Grant monies and reporting requirements are handled through the DSGS.

Eligibility

Only faculty who hold full-time appointments may apply. The GC will only consider one proposal per P.I. Council members may not apply. Awards will be made to colleges on a rotating basis. Even-numbered academic years (example: 2018-19) will be open to College of Business, College of Engineering, and College of Liberal Arts. Odd-numbered academic years (example: 2019-20) will be open to College of Education, College of Nursing & Health Professions, and College of Science. Applications will be accepted from the eligible colleges and reviewed by GC. Generally, one award will be made to each college. If the GC declines to make an award based on the proposals received from a particular college, then the council may choose to grant the award to a different college, divide the money between the other two winners, or roll the money back into the Shearman account.

Use of Funds

The use of funds is generally unrestricted as long as it is directly related to the scope of the proposal. Higher priority for awards will be given to those that are innovative or involve new research initiatives; that concern faculty development initiatives; that foster student participation and/or engagement; that are collaborative or interdisciplinary; request equipment (either new or repair of existing) to be used for research / instruction / student engagement. Lower priority for awards will be given to those that seek faculty salary or conference travel funds (if either is granted, must be ¼ or less of the total award amount); support for continuing research projects. No grant will be made to any proposal that requests faculty salary AND conference travel funds. Award winners must skip at least one award cycle for their college before they are eligible to apply again. If their award was spent over three years, then they must skip two award cycles. Award winners may take up to three years to expend funds without requesting an extension, but the intention to use the money over this period should clearly be noted in the proposal. Otherwise, award recipients are encouraged to use funds in a timely manner. All basic university / state rules are still applicable (reporting, travel/purchasing/accounting procedures, unspent funds return to account, etc.)

Submission Process

DSGS will issue a request for proposals to all eligible faculty (see the college award rotation noted above) near the beginning of each fall semester and the application deadline will be noted. Awards will be announced as soon as practical thereafter. Proposals must include all required signatures and all proposals will be submitted electronically to: gradschool@mcneese.edu. Proposal guidelines and the application form may be found at https://www.mcneese.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Shearman-Proposal-Template.docx.