President's Research in Diversity Travel Assistance Program
At the University of Illinois, diversity includes
fostering learning environments where all students can achieve their
full potential. Diversity is more than diverse ideas—it includes
representation of individuals from all backgrounds and perspectives in
terms of race, ethnicity, disability, gender, gender identity,
sexuality, socioeconomics, nationality, and spirituality.
Assistance Description
The Vice President for Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the
President's Research in Diversity Travel Assistance. This competitive award
program has been established for the purpose of promoting diversity and
the understanding of diversity within the University. Recipients are
provided a certificate and funding, not to exceed $600, to travel to a
professional conference. Awards will be presented to up to ten (10)
University of Illinois students in each biannual awards cycle.
The reimbursement of travel expenses through these conference travel
awards is intended to support student candidates who will be presenting
papers, posters, or creative work at conferences related to issues of
diversity or identity, such as those involving race, gender, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, disability, and national origin, in service to the
University's interest in a diverse learning community.
Award monies are limited to use for reimbursement of meeting
registration, travel and lodging expenses that are directly related to
the conference. The department/college will be responsible for travel
expense processing after which award funds will be transferred to the
department/college by the Vice President's office.
Eligibility Requirements
Following are the requirements for consideration of an application:
- The student must be enrolled at the University and in good academic standing when conference travel occurs.
- Urbana and Chicago graduate/professional students are eligible for
this award; Springfield graduate/professional and undergraduate students
are eligible.
- The student must comply with all University travel policies and procedures as well as applicable state regulations. (https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/bfpp/section-15-travel)
- The department/college from which the student is enrolled or a unit
sponsoring the student (such as the Graduate College) must endorse and
approve the student's participation in the conference and provide some
financial support ($200 minimum) for the student's participation in the
conference.
Deadline for Competition
Conference travel must take place between October 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. Applications for the Fall 2019 President's Research in
Diversity Travel Assistance will be accepted starting August 13, 2019 and
must be submitted no later than September 23, 2019.
Application Procedure
The online application form may be accessed here: Application.
Please note that while the applicant may open and review the
application form beforehand, the information must be completed and
submitted in one sitting - the application cannot be saved partially
completed. As part of the application form submission, the applicant
will be asked to include the following items:
- An abstract (approximately 600-word maximum) describing the work
to be presented and how it relates to issues of diversity and identity,
such as those involving race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
disability, and national origin (to be typed or copied into the
application form).
- A brief (approximately 600-word maximum) description of the travel
plans and potential impact of the conference travel on the student,
department, or field of study (to be typed or copied into the
application form).
- Evidence (i.e. proposal acceptance letter from conference planning
committee) that they will be presenting papers, posters, or creative
work at the conference (to be uploaded, e.g. a Word document or scanned
PDF document).
- Applicants must provide a department head or advisor's name and email address. This person will receive a message [view text of this message]
asking for confirmation that the department/college or sponsoring unit
is willing to provide a minimum of $200 financial support toward the
student's participation in the conference. Their confirmation will
complete the application, and should be received no later than the
application deadlines listed above.
Notification of Award Recipients
Applications will be reviewed by faculty and administrators from each campus and University Administration.
Students selected for the President's Research in Diversity Travel
Assistance and their sponsoring departments will be notified of Fall 2019 Travel Awards during the first week of October.
A letter with these instructions
will be sent at the time of the award to the department business
manager for each student who receives a President's Research in
Diversity Travel Assistance.
Recipients
Current and Past Award Recipients
Questions
Please see this list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Please direct all questions to the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, University-Wide Student Programs at USPScholarships@uillinois.edu or at (217) 333-2030.