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.