Purpose of Diversity Grants
The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences is funding a small grants program available to departments and schools within the college to promote creative ideas and projects focused on building an inclusive environment at Virginia Tech. All departments and schools in the college aspire to become inclusive communities with the fullest possible participation of students, faculty, and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds, encompassing diversity of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, and veteran status. The college recognizes that diversity invigorates and enlivens the exchange of ideas, broadens scholarship, and contributes to just engagement in all the world’s communities.

Funds Available
Funding for projects range from $2,500 to $10,000 for the period of January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2021. Funds may be used only for expenses clearly and directly related and necessary to implementation of the proposed project. No faculty salary will be allowed. Applications with potential for external funding will be given high priority.

Eligibility
This program is open to all departments and schools within the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Proposals may involve more than one department or school. Participation by faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students is encouraged, although faculty and staff should provide oversight for proposals to be implemented primarily by students.

Application Procedures
Departments may submit more than one proposal in any funding cycle. The department head or chair must endorse all proposals. If a proposal involves more than one department, the head or chair of each department must endorse the proposal. The proposal must include a one page budget specifying the use of funds. A project plan must be submitted which shall not exceed three pages, single-spaced, including appropriate bibliographic references. The proposal also should include brief biographical sketches of participants not to exceed four pages. Additional pages are allowable for relevant appendices, including letters of support and IRB approval.

An electronic copy of the application must be submitted as .doc or .pdf to Shaila Mehra at shailamehra@vt.edu. Deadline for receipt of all applications is November 9, 2020, at 4 p.m.

Application
A complete application will include, in the following order:

  1. Project Plan (limited to three single-spaced pages), including bibliographic references, which addresses the following topics: Specific Aims; Project Design; Management Plan; Continuing Impact
  2. Brief Biographical Sketches of Key Participants (four pages maximum)
  3. Project Budget (itemization needed for all expenses)
  4. Appendices (if needed), including letters of agreement and/or IRB requirements

Review Process
All applications will be reviewed by a selection committee drawn from the college’s Diversity Committee, who will send a ranking of the proposals to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, who will make the final selections.

Reporting Requirements
Recipients will be expected to share the project and its outcome with the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences community. A final report including results of the project, how it made a difference within your department/unit in terms of supporting diversity and inclusion, and any recommendations you might have to extend your project’s goals to other units within the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences or the university must be submitted to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences no later than June 30, 2021.

Submitted by Shaila Mehra, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences