Kathryn Wasserman Davis DAVIS PROJECTS FOR PEACE

Request for Proposals from Trinity College Students   The application and review for 2009 has been concluded.   The proposal "Developing Peace Through Health Education" by Jacob Gire ('10) , Alden C. Gordon ('10), and Michael Pierce ('10) was selected to receive a $10,000 grant through the Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace Initiative for the three Trinity students to work in Honduras in summer 2009. Congratulations to them!

What do you mean by “Projects for Peace”?
Intentionally, no clear definition is offered so as not to limit the imagination. We leave it up to the students to define what a "project for peace" might be. We hope to encourage creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The overall program (all 100 projects) is to be worldwide in scope and impact, but specific projects may be undertaken anywhere and as grassroots as desired, including in the U.S.

Who is eligible to design a “Project for Peace”?
Undergraduate students at invited schools (including seniors who would complete their projects after graduation) are eligible.  Groups of students from the same campus, as well as individual students, may submit proposals.

How does a student (or group of students) make a proposal?

To be considered, a student (or group of students) must submit:

1.  Trinity College Projects for Peace proposal cover sheet. Click here to access the cover sheet.

2.  A written statement which describes the project (who, what, where, how) and notes expected outcomes and prospects for future impact (not to exceed two pages).

3.  Project budget (one page).

Click here to access the Trinity College Projects for Peace Application.

Proposals must include pre-approval of all parties and organizations involved in the project. 

The proposal should be submitted electronically to the Center for Urban and Global Studies either in person or by email to Xiangming.Chen@trincoll.edu prior to February 1, 2009.  Students with questions may direct them to Dean Xiangming Chen via email at Xiangming.Chen@trincoll.edu or via phone at x5170.  Communication between students writing proposals and the Davis UWC Scholars office is prohibited and will result in the proposal being disqualified.

How are these proposals judged?

A selection committee headed by Dean Xiangming Chen of the Center for Urban and Global Studies will use the following criteria in evaluating the proposals prior to submitting finalists to UWC. The review committee at Trinity consists of Amy Brough (Director of the Office of Institutional Support), Xiangming Chen (Dean of Urban and Global Studies), Kristin Connelly (Assistant Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations), Michael Lestz (Associate Professor of History), and Jason Rojas (Director of Community Relations). Applicants have:

1.  Thoughtfully conceived a project that is likely to succeed

2.  Included a budget that is comprehensive and realistic

3.  Established relationships with any partner organizations

4.  Thought out and included a plan for sharing lessons learned with the College community upon completion of the project (this can take place any number of ways)

One proposal for funding and one or two additional proposals as alternates that might be funded will be submitted to United World College by the selection committee.

Final review and approval of all recommended proposals from individual campuses rests solely with the office of the Davis United World College Scholars Program which will then forward the appropriate grant funds to Trinity with notification of winning project(s).

Grants are made upon assurance that the project proposed will, in fact, be undertaken during the summer of 2009.

FINAL REPORT

For each funded project, the responsible student(s) must prepare and submit a final report by September 14, 2009, submitted electronically to Xiangming.Chen@trincoll.edu at CUGS, which will then be forwarded to the Davis UWC Scholars office. 

The final report is to be limited to two pages of narrative with an accounting of the funds expended and one page of digital photographs of the project.  The narrative should include a brief restatement of the project’s purpose/plans, actual work completed, outcomes/achievements/failures, and long-term prospects of the initiative.  Reports will be posted on the program’s website for all to see and learn from.  A complete set of reports will be compiled for Mrs. Davis and her family as a way of thanking her for her faith and investment in young and motivated peacemakers.

Timeline

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The Kenneth S. Grossman ’78 Global Studies Fund, established in honor of Professor Eugene E. Leach, supports student investigations of global issues that will confront humankind collectively in the 21^st century.  Examples of such issues include, but are not limited to, human rights, peacekeeping, the preservation of the ecosphere, migrations and diasporas, international health standards, and the consequences of revolutionary advances in information technology and bioengineering.

Click here for the Grossman Research Grant application form.

The Grossman Senior Research Prize for Global Studies

The Grossman Fund also supports an annual prize competition for theses or senior research projects dealing with global issues.  Eligible work includes theses or other projects based on original research undertaken for a Trinity course or under the supervision of a Trinity faculty member in a student’s senior year.  Submissions must be accompanied by a letter of nomination from the supervising faculty member or the instructor of the course for which the research was completed.  First prize will carry a cash award of $400, and second prize an award of $100. The two prizes and certificates will be awarded on the Honors Day on May 1, 2009.

*We invite you to read "Investing the Islamic Way," the 2009 Kenneth S. Grossman Senior Research for Global Studies Prize Winner .

 All questions regarding Grossman Research Grants or the Grossman Prize competition should be directed to Professor Zayde Antrim via email at Zayde.Antrim@trincoll.edu or via phone at x2230.  

The review committee for both the research grant and senior research prize is chaired by Professor Zayde Antrim and includes Professors Andrea Dyrness, Scott Tang, James Trostle, and Dean Xiangming Chen.

All grant applications and prize entries should be submitted to Jason Percy at Jason.Percy.@trincoll.edu (x5175) at the Center for Urban and Global Studies.

We also invite you to read the 2008 winning thesis completed by Christina S. Wheeler-Castillo '08 (and directed by Professor of Anthropology James Trostle), Trinity's first Grossman Prize designee.  To read her work, please click here.

Overview:

Trinity College requests the establishment of a grant program in partnership with Figure Foundation, to fund community-based projects and independent projects which benefit the Hartford community, to be implemented by students individually or in teams. Student proposals will be presented to Figure Foundation, which will make funding decisions. Student projects will be proposed and selected during Fall 2007, and implemented and completed by May 2008. Students may receive academic credits as independent studies or internships for their project work, when appropriate and agreed upon between students and faculty advisors.

The core concept is the achievement of maximum good for a minimal outlay. Figure Foundation especially seeks innovative proposals coupled with efficient, economical, and effective plans for their implementation. The funding process will be competitive, to encourage the best efforts on the part of all submitting teams and to nurture outstanding results from the program. Proposals will be treated with a necessary bias, favoring these outcomes.

Goals of this program:

The project aims include:

• To give students a first-hand knowledge of non-profit and community-based organizations.
• To give students opportunities to learn every aspect of project development and implementation in a community setting.
• To help the Hartford community, through the implementation of projects supported by the Urban Being program.
• To advance the larger goal of Trinity College to foster community partnerships in Hartford and the region.
• To provide students a first-hand experience of non-profit grant development and administration, learning from success and failure.
• To offer students a first-hand experience with the ongoing work of philanthropists and philanthropies, a different reality.

Specific aspects of the Urban Being program:

1. Students will propose their projects via email to Mr. Harry Solomon, President of Figure Foundation (founded@gmail.com). The core of the proposal is a brief description of the proposed project, and a rationale for it. The proposal should also provide a rationale for the funds requested, including a budget item list. The proposal need not be long or overly formal, but should be as concrete and specific as possible. In outlining the goals of your project, you might consider questions like these: Who will benefit from your project? How will the project be organized and implemented? How will you assess its effectiveness both during and after the project? Who will work with you on the project? Although your communication with Figure Foundation will usually be via email, you should provide full contact information for your team and for community partners or faculty advisors, if any. PROPOSAL DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 10^th. Funding decisions will be announced by December 1, at the latest.

2. Funds for approved projects will be held by Trinity in an account set up for exclusive use in this project. Funds may not be used to offset other expenses normally covered by any part of the Trinity College budget. The fund will be set up at Trinity as a special reimbursement account for project expenses.

3. Proposals are invited from sophomores, juniors, and seniors. [FY students: recruit a team member from '08-'10] If a project is funded, students will have an option to incorporate their implementation plans into a credit-bearing project in the spring term. For example, a project could implicate more than ten hours a week in a community placement, in which case it could be supervised as an internship for credit. Alternatively, a project may involve many hours of independent work (e.g., on a video documentary about Hartford), in which case it could be an independent study. Faculty may supervise these projects – students are responsible for making these arrangements.

4. If a project is funded, the students proposing it will be responsible for its implementation beginning as early as possible during Fall 2007 and concluding in May 2008. The challenge is to see how much can be done with the least amount of dollars and the maximum amount of constructive input.

5. Funds for student projects will support or enhance the Hartford community through development of new programs or activities involving community partners, or creating something of use to the community (e.g. public art, community history, etc.). Projects of the latter sort might not have specific community partners. Project funds will not be used for capital equipment on campus, salaries, or indirect costs to Trinity College. It is understood that participants shall not benefit financially.

6. Faculty may serve in an advisory capacity only. Faculty may not write or edit proposals. Faculty may meet with students, and help students conceive and refine both their project proposals and the projects themselves, to the extent needed and requested by students.

7. Trinity will use all available channels including the student newspaper, the daily email bulletin, and posters to inform all sophomores, juniors, and seniors of the existence of the Urban Being program. Similarly, faculty will be invited to participate as described above through as many channels as possible.

8. At the end of the Spring semester, the faculty advisors will oversee the collation of a report on the project, all of the specific proposals and budgets, an account of expenses for each project, reflections on their learning by the students, and an overview assessment of the project by the faculty. The report will be used to evaluate future funding. Success will be judged by the quality of the projects.

Conclusion:

Urban Being is intended as a presence and open door for non-profit foundations to fund student proposals. As such, there is the hope that other foundations may sign on in the future to be exposed to the student proposals. The advantage for foundations is the student proposals are a very inexpensive format for innovation. The advantage for the College is that Urban Being serves as a painless venue for foundations on campus. Suddenly there is a simple solution to a long-standing problem: student access to foundations.

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