START Curriculum Grants

START Curriculum Grant Announcement
Application deadline March 15, 2013 for fall 2013-spring 2014.  Proposals for  fall 2014 and beyond can also be submitted.

As part of Lafayette’s START Project—it starts with art—we are soliciting
proposals for START Curriculum Grants, which aim to bring the arts into courses across
the curriculum. The grants will fund the development of arts modules into existing and
new courses where students use the arts as a way of communicating or examining ideas.
Ideally, these modules will be developed for courses that are part of the Common Course
of Study, e.g. First Year Seminars. However, other courses reaching a broad student
audience will be considered. We also encourage the co-development of modules with
Lafayette community members or a collaborator outside of Lafayette.
These modules should be problem- or discovery-based class activities that require
students to engage in cross-disciplinary projects involving the arts. Proposals should:

  1. provide a description of the module to be developed with an explanation of
    how the infusion of the arts module will enhance your course;
  2. include a plan for the sustainability of the module, that is, for its long-term
    maintenance and success;
  3. discuss how different faculty instructors from different disciplines might
    collaborate to create the module as well as a plan for regularly offering the art infused course if the course is taught by multiple instructors;
  4. include a budget and budget justification that will cover the anticipated
    expenses for the module development and execution; and
  5. include a definitive plan for assessment of the arts infusion outcome.

Within the proposal, the applicant may also request a START Fellow—a student with a
background appropriate to assist in the creation and implementation of the arts-infusion
process. A request for such assistance should include a description of how the student
would be useful and how his or her time will best be spent.

The March 15, 201 proposals will be evaluated based on whether the promised modules seek to
contribute to a pedagogy where students are engaged in artistic expression and where the
arts are instrumental to learning. We expect that modules should be integrated into
courses to be taught academic year 2013-14.

Individuals who receive awards are expected to attend a modest number of sessions
intended to develop arts infusion ideas. Additional workshops will be offered to enhance
the participants’ knowledge and skills about arts pedagogy. Awardees will receive a
stipend for their time and participation in this program.

Applications for START Curricular Grants should be submitted to John Meier on
or before Friday, March 15, 2013. We expect that complete proposals should be able to fit
into a two-page document. These proposals will be reviewed by the Arts Advisory
Committee in November, with decisions being announced at the end of that month.
The START Project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and we
gratefully acknowledge this support.

The Arts Advisory Committee:
Alan Childs
Ellis Finger
Curlee Holton
John Meier, chair
Michiko Okaya
Michael O’Neill
Anne Raich
Elaine Reynolds
Andy Smith
Larry Stockton

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