Purpose

ASTR acknowledges that contingent faculty form an increasingly critical sector of the academic workforce, and yet they are excluded from professional activities and resources within the institutions that employ them. This is particularly true for scholars who work at the intersection of the fields of theater and dance. For this reason, ASTR is launching a five-year initiative to provide $1000 per year to support contingent scholars who specialize in dance-based work in theater. These grants are intended to expand access for part-time, adjunct, and contingent faculty in their research work in dance-based fields, and/or to support their travel to ASTR’s annual conference. Each year’s grant may be given to one winner, or split among two or more recipients. Winners of this grant will be given a one year membership to ASTR, plus have their conference fees at ASTR waived during the year of their award. ASTR is sincerely grateful for the donation from Dr. Jessica Berson, a dance studies scholar, teacher, and long-time member of ASTR. This grant honors her fiery and brilliant spirit, and dedication to the field.

Eligibility

Contingent faculty eligible for this award are non-students without access to institutional travel funding who teach either part-time or full-time off the tenure track (including lecturers, instructors, limited-term faculty, and adjuncts) as well as independent scholars. The goal of this award is to support research and/or attendance at the ASTR conference. Preference may be given to individuals who have not received travel or research support from ASTR in prior years.

Application

Application must include:

• A single-page essay (under 350 words, with 1.5 line spacing, 12-point type, and 1-inch margins) that states the research the applicant will undertake and/or their plans to attend the ASTR annual conference, and confirms that the applicant has financial need and does not have access to institutional support for conference travel.
• A copy of the applicant’s curriculum vitae.

Please upload application documents in PDF or Microsoft Word (.doc, or .docx) format. Whenever possible, all requested materials should be consolidated into a single zip file before being uploaded.

Evaluation

Criteria include the quality of the applicant's research project and/or their expression of interest in attending this year’s ASTR meeting, and the applicant’s record of achievement in scholarship and/or service.

Please direct questions to Committee Chair Jade Power Sotomayor at powersoto[at]gmail.com.

Submissions

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION

*Note: For security purposes, we ask that you log in to your ASTR.org account to apply. Both members and non-members are welcome to participate.