For Faculty

Faculty Research Award—for UNC Faculty Conducting Research on Africa

The African Studies Center at UNC Chapel Hill invites interested Africa-focused faculty at UNC Chapel Hill and faculty at North Carolina Minority Serving Institutions to apply for its Summer 2024 research award.

ASC supports faculty research, linkages with African institutions, and course development through limited Title VI National Research Center Award funds. ASC will offer a maximum award of $5000 to faculty. This award is intended to supplement other research support. Research in Africa and course development for courses with 50% or more African content will be prioritized. Open to faculty in minority-serving institutions in North Carolina.

These grants are available to faculty across disciplines.
The grant must be expended by July 2024, and all receipts submitted via Concur within 30 days of travel completion.
Faculty must submit a short impact statement to the Center within 30 days of the completion of the award activity.
Please see the note below. ASC’s “Faculty Funding Guidelines” for the Center’s equitable distribution of funds guidelines.

To apply, kindly submit a 1-2-page proposal with a project description, timelines, and outputs. The proposal should include a budget, the amount requested from ASC, and your CV. Submit as a single PDF or Word file to Ada Umenwaliri at adaozo@email.unc.edu. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, January 29, 2024.

African Studies Center: Guidelines for distribution of faculty support

The ASC supports faculty research and course development through limited funds from the Title VI NRC Award. In making decisions about the equitable distribution of these funds, the ASC will consider the merit of requests as well as the following factors:

1. The amount of funding ASC has provided to the faculty member in the past two cycles. Our aim is to distribute the support as widely as possible, drawing in applicants who have not previously been awarded ASC funds.
2. Has the faculty member sought support from other sources? The ASC aims to use its limited funds to leverage other funding, both internal and external. Therefore, applicants who have applied for additional funding will be prioritized over those seeking only ASC support.
3. Early-career applicants will be prioritized whenever possible.
4. Faculty who have received ASC funding in the past but have not followed guidelines for expenditure and documentation will not be prioritized for future funding.
5. Faculty whose projects hold benefits for the ASC will be prioritized. These benefits may include projects that complement our Title VI initiatives, projects that draw in new constituencies for our programs, and projects that build on existing ASC initiatives, such as linkages with African institutions and K-5 curriculum development.