Franklin & Marshall College

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The Office of College Grants administers institutional grants awarded by the Committee on Grants (COG) from proposals submitted throughout the academic year. This program provides faculty supplemental funding for creative research projects in arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

The Committee on Grants (COG), a standing committee appointed by Faculty Council, provides funds in support of faculty and student research. The main purpose of COG grants is either to provide seed money for projects that will eventually attract outside funding, or to support work where outside funds are not available. COG is also responsible for assuring ethical conduct of research that involves human subjects or animal subjects.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, the Committee on Grants (COG) awarded more than $69,404 to support 44 faculty research projects and $60,558 to support 63 students. An additional $338,979 from the Cargill, Decision Theory, Hackman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Mellon fund supported 87students and 59 faculty on collaborative research projects during the summer of 2012.

In 2008-2009, additional funding,in the area of bioinformatics, was made to Franklin & Marshall College through a $1.3 million award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Award determinations are made by the HHMI Committee.

Types of Faculty Research Funds Available

1. Research Grants, normally up to $1,000, support faculty research activities, including such expenses as supplies, student assistants, travel for research, and small items of equipment.
2. Hackman Faculty Research Awards, up to $5,000, are provided to a few faculty who have participated regularly in the Hackman Summer Scholar Program and who have sought outside funding for their research.
3. Faculty reprint funds are limited to $400 per year for reprints or mandatory page charges.
4. F&M Summer Scholars Program provides student summer stipends for faculty mentored research projects. Faculty apply for this program on behalf of the student. This program is supported by the following endowments:

• Cargill Environmental and Sustainability Fund - student summer stipends for faculty/student research in environmental science, environmental studies, or sustainability, across all disciplines. The Cargill Environmental Scholars funds are to support research that fosters an interdisciplinary understanding of environmental concepts and problems. The focus can be on field-related topics at the Millport Conservancy, the College’s Brickyard property, or elsewhere (including international). The funds can also be used for research on sustainability issues or environmental studies in a broad sense, including human interactions with the environment, environmental history, or environmental literature. Applications will be reviewed by a faculty group consisting of members of the Environmental Science and Environmental Studies Committees and Associate Dean de Wet.
• Decision Science, Decision Theory, and Distributive Justice - student summer stipends to support up to four faculty/student research in decision science, decision theory, and distributive justice. Projects could be in the following areas, among others: biostatistics, business, economics, epidemiology, ethics, philosophy, psychology, and public policy.  If you wish to apply for one of these stipends, include in your proposal a clear description of how your application involves decision science, decision theory, or distributive justice. Applications will be reviewed by an ad hoc faculty committee. 
• Hackman fund - student summer stipends to support faculty/student research.  Applications are reviewed by the Committee on Grants (COG).
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute - student summer stipends for faculty/student research in bioinformatics. Applications will be reviewed by the Program Committee for College's award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
• Mellon Environmental Fund — student summer stipends to support up to three faculty/student projects that investigate the natural environment through the lens of the humanities or social sciences. Additional funds (up to $1,000 per project) are available for related supplies and travel. Funded by a four-year grant to the college by the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, these funds are intended to support research that helps shed light on the humanistic and social values at stake in our interactions with, and attitudes toward, the natural environment. While research focusing on local and regional matters is encouraged, all projects will be considered. The additional funds can be used at the discretion of the mentoring faculty member as needed to forward the objectives of the research. Applications will be reviewed by a faculty group that includes the current Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Philosophy, Alexa Forrester.
• Rockhold funds - student summer stipends for economic research in developing countries

Please read the COG Facts & Figures for details and guidelines before applying.

The COG Application Form and the F&M Summer Scholars Application Form are available only during the open enrollment periods. Typically, there are five application deadlines for COG funding in 2012-2013:

• September 28, 2012
• November 16, 2012
• February 8, 2013 (student summer fellowships)
• March 1, 2013
• April 12, 2013 (if funds are available)

It is a condition of the grant that a report on your accomplishments be filed upon completion of the project. The COG Final Report is a precondition for faculty to receive support from the Committee in subsequent years.