The Benson Center funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. Although funding is open to any faculty at CU Boulder, special consideration is given to faculty fellows, and those who have a demonstrated interest in the study of Western Civ through participation at Center events. Faculty interested in applying for grants should consider applying as faculty fellows, which is a year-long appointment to participate in Center programming and includes a $4,000 stipend. 

Faculty grants are awarded three times throughout the academic year. The deadlines to apply are September 1, December 1, and March 1. Faculty with off-cycle requests should email BensonCenter@colorado.edu. Recipients of funding are asked to acknowledge the Center in event advertising and submit a brief online report no later than 1 month after the conclusion of the activity. The reports help the Center attract donor funding for future faculty grants. 

During the 2022–23 academic year, the Benson Center awarded 5 faculty grants totaling $10,746.58.

2022-23 Grantee Home Department Amount Awarded In Support of Date of event
Michaele Ferguson Political Science $1,378.58 Prof. Frost lecture on the CU Boulder campus October 14, 2022
Brian Catlos Religious Studies $5,000 Support for the "Mediterranean Origins of the West" October 21 & 22, 2022

David Boonin

 Philosophy

$1,500

Colorado Ethics Bowl

January 28, 2023

Celine Dauverd

 History

$2,000

Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies (ASPHS) conference

May 19 - 21, 2023

Mitzi Lee

 Philosophy

$868

 Rocky Mountain Philosophy Conference

April 16-18, 2023

We are particularly interested in funding initiatives of the following kinds:

  • Scholarly Lecturers
  • Public Lectures
  • Conferences
  • Educational Initiatives
  • Outreach visits to local schools, retirement communities, etc.
  • Funding for students you’re working with
  • Research funds or course buyouts

Other sorts of initiatives may also be eligible, but we do not fund faculty travel to other places. 

Applications should consist of the following materials:

  1. The mandatory application form (available here);
  2. A narrative explaining the proposal;
  3. A concise budget;
  4. Information (a short CV, for instance) about visiting speakers (if any), including preliminary visit dates

All of this information should be submitted via email to BensonCenter@colorado.edu.  We prefer, if possible, that you submit all of the elements of the application as a single .pdf document, with the pages ordered according to the above list. 

There are three rounds of grants each year, with the following deadlines:

  • September 1 
  • December 1
  • March 1

 If there is an urgent need for a funding decision prior to a deadline, please request off-cycle consideration in the application.

Would-be applicants should feel free to consult with the Center director in advance about the feasibility of their proposal. 

Faculty grants require a brief report upon the conclusion of the activity. Reports should also include any marketing and hopefully a good photo or two from the event. Please click here to access the report template, upload photos, and to submit the report. 

 

 

 

Archive of Benson Center faculty grants

ethnograhy
Teaching Ethnography for Social Engagement Faculty Pedagogy Workshop
Date(s) of activity: March 6, 2020 Total number of attendees: 40 Number of student attendees: 9 Target audience: Faculty and community members who have experience collaborating with faculty, grad students designing courses with community-engaged research focus Presenters and their affiliated institutions: In order of presentation: Kathryn Goldfarb (CU Boulder), Eric...

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Development and Underdevelopment in the Global South: Histories, Forms, Alternatives
The Department of English Presents "Development and Underdevelopment in the Global South: Histories, Forms, Alternatives" on April 5th, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Center for British and Irish Studies (Norlin M549) 9:30-10:00 Light breakfast refreshments 10:00-11:00 Duncan Yoon , Assistant Professor, Gallatin School, New York University:...

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The Rest does the West: Global Uses and Experiences of Western Civilization
The "The Rest does the West: Global Uses and Experiences of Western Civilization" Colloquium will take place on March, 1st, 2019, from 2:00 PM to 6:30 PM in Benson Earth Sciences 380.

shuster
A Lecture and Seminar with Dr. Martin Shuster (Goucher College)
The Graduate Certificate Program in Critical Theory presents a 2-day critical theory event, "A Lecture and Seminar with Dr. Martin Shuster (Goucher College)" from February 21-22, 2019.

welsh
The Fifth Glossary of Nonius Marcellus
The Classics Department presents "The Fifth Glossary of Nonius Marcellus" on Monday, October 8th at 4:30 in HUMN 135, by speaker Jarrett Welsh, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto.