For the Record

Announcements

Calling poets and writers to work in a German villa
The Hessen Literary Society is offering a stipend for a Wisconsin poet or writer to live and work in a German villa for three months. The deadline for applications is March 11. Application materials and guidelines are available at the Wisconsin Academy’s Web site, http://www.wisconsinacademy.org.

In an effort to build cultural ties between the central German state of Hessen and its sister state, Wisconsin, one poet or writer from Wisconsin will be selected to live and work in Wiesbaden during the months of August, September and October, and will receive a stipend of 1,000 Euros per month. He or she will stay free of charge at Villa Clementine, a state-run residence for literary and cultural exchange, but will pay his or her own travel expenses. The poet or writer is expected to give public readings, conduct workshops and participate in various other ways in the German literary community.

The chosen candidate will be notified by May 1.

For information: Joan Fischer at 263-1692, ext. 16, or e-mail jfischer@wisconsinacademy.org.

Funding available for teaching tools
The Division of Information Technology is offering awards of $750 plus consultation for any instructors who would like to use two teaching tools created by its Engage program.

QuizImage helps instructors quickly and easily create interactive images. ConceptTutor lets instructors write short learning activities that help their students better understand critical concepts. More information about these tools and the Engage program can be found at http://engage.doit.wisc.edu. Faculty and instructional staff interested in using with these tools should contact the Engage program at engage@doit.wisc.edu or call 262-5667.

Summer residential immersion programs in Arabic and Persian
Undergraduate, graduate and professional students of Arabic and Persian at the elementary and intermediate levels can apply for summer residential immersion programs that take place June 11-Aug. 6. Participants agree to use their language of study exclusively throughout the entire eight-week program.

Those with no background in the language for which they are applying should apply for the elementary level, while those with one year of university-level Arabic/Persian study or its equivalent are encouraged to apply at the intermediate level. Both levels offer eight UW–Madison semester credits.

Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis until the program is filled. For more information or to download an application, visit http://www.wisc.edu/globalstudies/apip, stop by 301 Ingraham or call 365-2631.

Awards and fellowships

The Integrated Liberal Studies
The Integrated Liberal Studies Program is seeking applications for the 2005-06 Meiklejohn-Powell Fellowship. The fellowship provides a $5,000 grant to an individual faculty member for the development and implementation of a new course, workshop or lecture series that reflects the work or concerns of Alexander Meiklejohn.

Interested faculty members should submit a brief proposal, up to 750 words, detailing their projects. Appropriate topics include the role of liberal education in the 21st century, residential learning communities, freedom of speech, critical thinking for an educated citizenry and the philosophy of liberal education. The application deadline for the 2005-06 academic year is Friday, Feb. 25.

For more information, contact Laura McClure at 262-9067 or lmcclure@facstaff.wisc.edu.

Nominations sought for the Alliant Energy Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Award
The UW System Office of Professional and Instructional Development is seeking nominations for the 2005 Alliant Energy Underkofler Excellence in Teaching Awards. Four awards will be given this year at UW System institutions within the service area of the company. The $5,000 awards are intended to recognize teaching of outstanding quality that leads to substantial intellectual growth in students.

Eligible individuals must be current members of the teaching faculty or teaching academic staff at one of the UW System institutions within the service area of Alliant Energy, including UW–Madison, UW-Platteville and the UW College campuses at Baraboo, Fond du Lac, Richland Center, Rock County and Sheboygan. Each campus may nominate up to three faculty or academic staff members.

Candidates should display an uncommon commitment to teaching, employ especially effective teaching strategies and have enabled particularly notable achievements by former students.

Applications must include:

• A one- or two-page reflective statement by the nominee on his or her teaching and learning philosophy, strategies and objectives, and how these have evolved over time.
• A condensed curriculum vitae of the nominee.
• Two or three letters of support from current or past students. At least one should be from a student with recent or current contact with the candidate.
• Two or three letters of support from colleagues qualified to comment on the candidate’s teaching. One should be from the department chair.
• A well-organized small set of items (no more than 10 pages) that document the excellence of the candidate’s teaching (for example, course syllabi, handouts, descriptions of evaluation methods, examinations, grants received for teaching/course development, videotapes, etc.). These items should be accompanied by a brief explanation of why they were included.
• Evidence of the success of the candidate’s teaching (no more than three pages), which may include a summary of student evaluations for each course taught over the past two years, a list of awards for teaching, invitations to speak at teaching improvement meetings and other relevant material.

Nominations and supporting materials are due by Feb. 28. Eight complete sets should be addressed to Colleen McCabe, 270 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison WI 53706.

Herfurth-Kubly nominations sought
Nominations are sought for the Theodore Herfurth and Teddy Kubly Awards for Initiative and Efficiency. Two $2,000 awards will be given, one each for the most deserving male and female senior. Candidates can be nominated by faculty, staff and student organizations. Students nominated must have senior standing and be within one year of graduation. For a nomination form and student application or more information, contact Laurie Mayberry at 262-5246 or awards@provost.wisc.edu. Nominations and application forms are due Feb. 18 in 117 Bascom Hall. Finalists must be available to meet with the committee and attend a luncheon from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on April 16.

Grants

Grants available for humanities programs
The Wisconsin Humanities Council offers grants to humanities scholars and nonprofit organizations in Wisconsin. Mini-grants of up to $2,000 are awarded six times a year, with a coming deadline of March 15. Major grants not exceeding $10,000 are available three times a year, with the next deadline of April 15.

WHC grants fund projects that facilitate discussion and exchange between humanities scholars and the public. Topics may include an aspect of the humanities or public interest matters to which scholars may bring a humanities perspective.

WHC grant guidelines and application forms are available at http://www.wisconsinhumanities.org.

Phone calls are strongly encouraged before submitting an application. For more information, contact Dena Wortzel at dwortzel@wisc.edu or Jessica Becker at jebecker2@wisc.edu or 262-0706.

CIBER educational grants offered
The purpose of the UW–Madison Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) grants program is to encourage and support teaching and research in international education. The program supports these activities in several disciplines, including business, engineering, law, area/international studies, foreign languages and communications.

Grant requests should address CIBER’s mission to increase the competitiveness of U.S. business abroad. UW–Madison faculty and Ph.D. students are eligible to apply. Applications for Global Research/Curriculum Development awards in the amount of $2,000-$7,500 have April 1 and Oct. 1 deadlines. CIBER Applied Funds for under $2,000 have application deadlines on the first of each month.

Grants in either category can be used to support international research, purchase curriculum development material, and support visiting guest speakers for classes and/or public programs with a global focus. Detailed information, including applications and instructions for each category is at http://www.bus.wisc.edu/ciber/facdev/grants.asp.

Academic Staff Professional Development Grants
All UW–Madison academic staff with at least a 50 percent appointment can compete for 2005-2006 Academic Staff Professional Development (ASPD) Grants Part I for conferences, training or other professional development projects that occur between July 1 and Dec. 1, 2005. Proposals should focus on training and/or retraining to improve the academic staff members’ effectiveness in their current roles. A lower priority will be given to proposals designed to enhance staff members’ ability to compete for other positions.

Authorized and funded in part by UW-System, the program’s main objectives are individual professional development, improved program quality, improved institutional effectiveness and/or design for diversity. The funds can be used to send an individual to training or to bring a trainer to campus to work with a group of academic staff.

This program is sponsored and administered by UW–Madison, and half of the funding for individual projects comes from staff members’ department. The Professional Development and Recognition Committee of the Academic Staff Assembly administer the review process by a committee of academic staff.

Applications must be submitted to department chairs or directors by March 11. Academic staff with split appointments who propose projects that are related to all units for which they work have to secure the endorsement of each employing unit. Applications that have been approved by department chairs/directors will be forwarded to the dean’s/director’s office and then to the Office of Human Resources.

Application instructions are at http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/grants/asprofdevgrtinfo.html. For more information, contact Pam Bauman, Office of Human Resources, at pbauman@bascom.wisc.edu or 263-2511.

Applications due to:

Department Chair/Director: March 11, 2005

Dean/Director: March 18, 2005

Office of Human Resources (166 Bascom Hall): April 1, 2005