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Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson and Christopher Wilkinson Course Enhancement Grant for the Teaching of Creative Arts History from a Humanistic Perspective

The College of Creative Arts is pleased to announce a request for proposals for the Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson and Christopher Wilkinson Course Enhancement Grant for the Teaching of Creative Arts History from a Humanistic Perspective. This grant is made possible by the generosity of Carroll Wetzel Wilkinson and Christopher Wilkinson, and the award will be in the amount of $1,000.

The purpose of this grant program is to promote innovative instruction in the arts from a humanistic perspective, including the cultivation of research writing skills, information literacy capabilities, and critical engagement within undergraduate and graduate courses devoted to the history of art, design, music, theatre, or dance.

The deadline for applications is December 15, 2021. Applications must be submitted electronically to Theresa Rhodes at Theresa.Rhodes@mail.wvu.edu. The Office of the Dean will announce the recipient of the grant award by January 10, 2022. 

Eligibility: Applicants for support must be full-time faculty in the College of Creative Arts whose primary instructional assignment is associated with courses in the history of the artistic disciplines listed above. They must have earned a Ph.D. in one of the following disciplines: art history, musicology, ethnomusicology, theatre history, or dance history. The sole exceptions are those faculty who have earned a DMA with emphasis in world music or the M.A. in art or theatre history, who have a record of scholarly peer-reviewed publications and presentations in their area and are regularly engaged in the teaching of courses in their area of specialty from a humanistic (e.g. ethnomusicological or art historical) perspective as part of their instructional assignment.

Initiatives to be supported: Faculty are eligible for funding who seek to develop new courses or to revise current courses substantially to enhance students’ development of skills in research writing, the principles of information literacy, and/or critical engagement with one of the artistic disciplines through active learning. Proposals for the development or revision of collaboratively taught courses by faculty from two or more of the Schools within the College of Creative Arts are also eligible, as are collaborative initiatives involving one or more faculty from other units of the University. Initiatives concerned with performance or creation of works of art are not eligible for support from this program.

Funds may be used to provide salary or other relevant professional remuneration in support of the primary applicant(s) involved in a funded project and/or acquisition of resources not otherwise available from the University. When appropriate, the primary applicant(s) may share a portion of the award with one or more consultants from other units of the University having relevant expertise in the areas of research writing or information literacy. Any resources funded by this grant initiative that are not consumed by the project will become the property of the University. All course materials developed during the project period will be made available to faculty colleagues within the College to promote further development of the skills listed above.

Application process: Applicants should prepare a statement not to exceed 2000 words in which they address the following topics:

• A description of the course to be developed or revised and the justification for doing so.

• An outline of the plan by which course development/revision will be carried out along with a timetable for the completion of each step on the process.

• A comprehensive description of the learning outcomes to be expected of students successfully completing the new or revised course. 

• A detailed description of the plan for assessing the efficacy of the new or revised course in enabling students to master those learning outcomes. In the case of course revision, a copy of the current syllabus must accompany the application.

Successful applicants must agree to offer the new or revised course on a regular schedule and to do so no fewer than three times.

Evaluation: A Selection Committee appointed and chaired by the Dean of the College will evaluate and rank all proposals. The Committee is to consist of a senior faculty member from each of the College’s Schools as well as the Dean. While serving on the Committee, no faculty member may apply for funds from this program. The successful applicant may not apply for another grant from this initiative in the year following funding. This is also to be the case in the instance wherein several colleagues apply in support of a collaborative teaching initiative. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply in the following year.

Evaluation Criteria: Each proposal shall be ranked based upon the completeness, quality, and clarity of the statement, as well as its persuasiveness. The Selection Committee will pay particular attention to the learning outcomes of the new or revised course. Consideration will also be given to the probability of successful completion of the project and teaching the revised or new course a minimum of three times.

Documentation of the success of a funded proposal: As soon as possible, but no later than the conclusion of the semester in which a revised or new course is offered for the first time, the successful applicant(s) will prepare a written report accompanied by relevant supporting documentation in which are discussed the nature of the innovations developed and the evidence of their efficacy in promoting the objectives of the Grant program. This report is to be submitted to the Dean and as appropriate made available to faculty contemplating similar innovations in their own approach to instruction. A copy of the same report accompanied by a copy of the recipient’s curriculum vitae is also to be sent to the donors for their information.