Ohio Hispanic Heritage Project Grants

Sponsored by the Department of Spanish & Portuguese
with Innovation Grant funding from the Division of Arts & Humanities

2013 Request for Proposals

The Department of Spanish & Portuguese announces a “mini-grant” competition to encourage research and teaching on topics directly related to Latino communities of the state of Ohio. Funding is provided from the College of Arts & Humanities through the Ohio Hispanic Heritage Project, whose main foci are the different experiences of migrancy and diaspora, the linguistic performance of migrants and communities in dialectological and bilingual terms, and their constructed and shifting identities, particularly as articulated in written or oral life-stories.

Small Research Grants. Awards of up to $500 will be available for research projects to be carried out in 2014. The Principal Investigator must be currently teaching or studying at OSU as a faculty member, a graduate student, or an honors undergraduate. Thesis and dissertation projects are welcome. Criteria for selection include quality and feasibility of the research project, qualifications of the applicant to carry it out, and, in the case of students, the recommendation of the advisor. It is hoped that funded projects will be presented at the Ohio Hispanic Heritage Project Symposium to be held in 2015. Application deadline: Friday, November 22, 2013. Awards will be announced in December.

Course Enhancement Grants. Awards of up to $1,500 will be available for OSU faculty to create a new course or enhance an existing course in such a way as to highlight Hispanic Ohio, e.g. through a required component of field research in the state. Funded proposals will need to be taught in 2014 or 2015. Applicants must provide a syllabus for the course in its proposed version, together with a statement motivating the course (or course enhancement) and explaining how it would fit into the curriculum of which it would be a part. Application deadline: Friday, November 22, 2013. Awards will be announced in December.

OHHP Grant funds may be used for the following:

• Materials, supplies and equipment (note that any items in this category purchased with grant money remain the property of The Ohio State University) 
• Travel for research 
• Undergraduate or graduate student wages (in support of faculty research or teaching) 
• OHHP Grant funds may not be used to purchase a release from teaching, or to pay for food or per diem expenses.

Research proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: 

• Extent to which the proposed project focuses on Hispanic communities in Ohio 
• Extent to which the proposed project contributes new knowledge in its field 
• Extent to which the proposed project is based on a sound research methodology

Course enhancement proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: 

• Extent to which the proposed enhancement focuses on Hispanic communities in Ohio 
• Extent to which the proposed enhancement supports the learning objectives of the course 
• Extent to which the proposed enhancement is based on sound teaching methodologies

Application Submission Process:

There is no application form. Narrative proposals should include a budget and all pertinent information about the project as described in this RFP. Submit one copy of the complete proposal either electronically or in hard copy by the November 22 deadline to Melodie McGrothers, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, 298 Hagerty Hall, 1775 College Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1340.

Direct questions to any member of the OHHP Steering Committee: Ignacio Corona, José O. Díaz, Glenn A. Martínez, Terrell A. Morgan, Fernando Unzueta, or Ulises Juan Zevallos- Aguilar.