All faculty members in the humanities may present proposals to bring visiting humanists to the University during the academic year. Faculty members outside the humanities are also invited to do so; they might identify visiting humanists who might benefit their own departments or departments in the humanities. The intent is (a) to bring to campus professionals who would share their experience, research, creativity, and vision, and (b) to support and foster an enthusiastic and dynamic process of intellectual exchange that would generate ideas, spark discussion, and help the Converse faculty stay up to date, imaginative, and vibrant.
The NEH Visiting Scholars Program works as follows. Each department in the humanities (English, Foreign Languages and Literatures, History and Politics, and Religion and Philosophy) plus the group of related courses composed of Art History, History of Education, History of Dance, Music History, and Theater History would receive from the Faculty Development Committee $2,000 each academic year to bring one or several visiting humanists to Converse.
This amount would cover honorarium, transportation, lodging, dining, advertisement, and entertainment.
In order to receive the funds, the applicants must meet the following guidelines:
- The NEH Guidelines:
“A portion of the NEH funds is designated for stipends for visiting humanists. These individuals should be brought to campus for the purpose of enhancing the humanities programs of the University and inspiring and encouraging faculty and students in the humanities. These visits may be short-term or long-term: for a lecture or a series of lectures, for workshops, for seminars of several days duration, or for a semester of teaching. In general, the potential contribution of a visiting humanist should fall within the categories established for faculty development: interdisciplinary connections, career implications, teaching methods, and curriculum development/ enhancement. The qualifications of these humanists should include specialties for which an academic department or the University has particular need.”
- The Faculty Development Committee Guidelines:
Each applicant should present to the committee a plan that would include the goals that the visit is expected to meet in relation to the students, the faculty involved, or the University community; a curriculum vitae of the visiting humanist; arrival and departure dates; lodging arrangements; and a schedule of activities.
It would be the responsibility of each applicant to invite the visiting humanist; make travel plans; host the visitor from arrival to departure times; arrange lodging, dining, and entertainment; advertise the events, including a poster in which the NEH Fund is acknowledged; introduce the visitor to the audience(s); and conduct other activities on campus.
The deadlines for applications are: September 30 for visiting humanists coming in the Fall Term; November 30 for those coming in the January Term; and January 31 for those coming in the Spring Term. These deadlines should not deter applicants from submitting proposals for the January and Spring Terms early in the academic year. Actually, the Faculty Development Committee encourages applicants to present proposals as early as possible; they will be considered on a first come first served basis. If by January 31 some departments have not applied, the Faculty Development Committee would be free to use the remaining funds to bring humanists to campus for a day or more in order to conduct workshops and/or lectures.