Competition

The Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Awards in the Humanities

Recognizing Early-Career Faculty in California, Oregon, and Washington

ACLS and Pomona College welcome nominations for the 2024-25 competition for The Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Awards in the Humanities. The Graves Awards are offered biannually and recognize “outstanding accomplishment in actual teaching in the humanities” among early-career faculty at a select group of institutions in California, Oregon, and Washington.

Fellowship Details

  • The maximum award will be $15,000. The exact amount of each award will be calculated based on the full details provided within the applicant’s proposal, including their overall budget and indication of any supplementary support awarded by other external or internal sources. If Graves Award funding can be combined with institutional or other funding to enhance the transformative impact of this award, such synergies are welcome. No institutional overhead is permitted.
  • Activities supported by an award should be completed between March 2025-December 2026.
  • The Graves Awards are open to early-career faculty in the humanities and interpretive social sciences who are nominated by their eligible institution. See the full list of eligible institutions.
  • The call for nominations will be circulated to eligible institutions on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Institutions must submit their nomination to the designated ACLS e-mail address by 9:00 PM EDT on Friday, October 18, 2024; completed applications (comprising both institutional and individual materials) must be submitted through the ACLS online fellowship and grant administration system (ofa.acls.org) no later than 9:00PM EST on Friday, December 6, 2024.
  • Notifications will be sent via e-mail in early February 2025.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

  1. be in at least their third, and no more than their tenth, year of teaching in a permanent position, inclusive of any earlier, permanent appointment at another institution.
  2. be working within the fields of humanities and interpretive social sciences supported by ACLS.
  3. be forwarded as their eligible institution’s sole nominee.

Application Guidelines

The Graves Awards in the Humanities are administered by Pomona College, under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. By the terms of the bequest, awards are limited to early career faculty members of “fully accredited, privately endowed liberal arts colleges in California, Oregon, and Washington.”

For Nominating Institutions

  • Each eligible institution may nominate one faculty member per competition. Institutional eligibility is determined by the language of the trust agreement. (For questions, please contact [email protected].)
  • Each eligible institution may establish its own internal process for nominating its candidate. That nominee must be in at least their third, and no more than their tenth, year of teaching in a permanent position, inclusive of any earlier, permanent appointment at another institution.
  • The institutional nomination should be made to the provided ACLS email by the designated academic officer of the institution (e.g. President, Provost, Dean, or Associate Dean, but not Department Chair) no later than 9:00 PM EDT on Friday, October 18, 2024.

For Nominees

Nominees will be invited to apply via the ACLS online fellowship and grant administration system (ofa.acls.org) by late October 2024. Applications are due no later than 9:00 PM EDT on Friday, December 6, 2024. Application materials include:

  1. An institutional statement, no longer than three double-spaced pages and submitted separately as a letter of recommendation and, from the designated academic officer (a) describing the internal process by which the nominee was selected, (b) providing evidence that the nominee has demonstrated “outstanding accomplishment in actual teaching in the humanities”, and (c) supporting the feasibility of the proposal. As part of its argument for the individual nominee’s demonstrated excellence as a teacher and proposal, this statement should advise the committee on the place and role of undergraduate humanities instruction within the nominating institution.
  2. An individual proposal, no more than five double-spaced pages, describing the transformative experience for which the applicant will use the award – e.g. for reading, for studying, for traveling, for conference-going, for writing – in support of their future teaching and professional endeavors. This proposal should include a timeline for the project. Although the range of potential uses for a Graves Award is intentionally wide-ranging, the nominee should indicate very specifically how their proposed experience will enhance their future teaching.
  3. A curriculum vitae, including a full record of the nominee’s teaching schedule over the last three years.
  4. A teaching statement, no more than two double-spaced pages, in which the applicant reflects on their successes, amidst the challenges and opportunities posed by their recent teaching experiences, within the classroom.
  5. An itemized budget for all anticipated expenses related to the proposal should be submitted. The budget should include any anticipated (internal or external) supplemental income, such as sabbatical pay or other fellowships. The budget should also include anticipated dates for use of funds.

Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers for the Graves Awards are asked to evaluate all eligible proposals on the following four criteria:

  • The strength of the institutional nomination concerning the demonstrated excellence of the applicant’s teaching in the humanities or interpretive social sciences.
  • The potential of the proposal to enhance the applicant’s professional development and their future teaching success.
  • The thoughtfulness of the proposal with regard to the applicant’s past opportunities and future aspirations, taking into account relative advantages and constraints on resources for the proposed project and over the course of the applicant’s career.
  • The feasibility and overall professionalism of the proposal.

Webinars

  • Designated academic officers or their delegates are invited to register for our Informational Webinar for Institutions (ca. second week of September)
  • Nominees will be invited to register for our Informational Webinar for Nominees (ca. late October)

Eligible Institutions

A list of eligible institutions may be found below. Designated academic officers from California, Oregon, or Washington institutions who wish to enquire about eligibility should e-mail [email protected].

  • Azusa Pacific University
  • Biola University
  • Bushnell University
  • California Baptist University
  • California Institute of Technology
  • California Lutheran University
  • Chapman University
  • Claremont McKenna College
  • Concordia University – Irvine
  • Dominican University of California
  • George Fox University
  • Gonzaga University
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • La Sierra University
  • University of La Verne
  • Lewis & Clark College
  • Linfield University
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Occidental College
  • Pacific University (OR)
  • University of the Pacific (CA)
  • Pacific Lutheran University
  • Pacific Union College
  • Pepperdine University
  • Pitzer College
  • Point Loma Nazarene University
  • Pomona College
  • University of Portland
  • University of Puget Sound
  • Reed College
  • University of Redlands
  • Saint Mary’s College of California
  • University of San Diego
  • University of San Francisco
  • Santa Clara University
  • Scripps College
  • Seattle Pacific University
  • Seattle University
  • Simpson University
  • Soka University
  • Walla Walla University
  • Warner Pacific University
  • Westmont College
  • Whitman College
  • Whittier College
  • Whitworth University
  • Willamette University