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Nebraska Cather Collaborative Research Grants for Willa Cather Scholarship

NEBRASKA CATHER COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH GRANTS FOR WILLA CATHER SCHOLARSHIP: The Cather Project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) English Department, in cooperation with the Cather Archive of the UNL Libraries and the National Willa Cather Center (NWCC) in Red Cloud, announces the availability of research grants for visiting scholars. These grants provide financial support for scholars to travel to and reside in Nebraska for one to four weeks to conduct research on Willa Cather in UNL Archives and Special Collections and in the Archive of the NWCC. Scholars from advanced doctoral students through senior faculty are invited to apply (note the change from previous Woodress Scholars research grants program).

Proposed projects should reflect the need to conduct research in UNL Archives and Special Collections, although researchers are also encouraged to conduct research at the NWCC and to experience Cather’s Nebraska hometown during their residence. Successful applicants will be awarded $1,000 per week up to four weeks. The deadline for submission of materials is 1 December 2021, and we will inform successful applicants by 1 February 2022. Weeks in residence, which need not be consecutive, should fall between 1 March 2022 and 28 February 2023. Note, however, that considering the contingencies of the pandemic, grant funds will be held in reserve and may be taken up later if archives access and safe travel are not available during this period.

The Cather Project will assist successful applicants with advice about travel and lodging. When successful applicants are in residence, they will receive advice and guidance from scholars associated with the Cather Project and the Cather Archive and, depending on schedule and availability, have the opportunity to present their work in progress.

These grants are funded by the Willa Cather Fund and the Roberta and James Woodress Fund, both of which are administered by the University of Nebraska Foundation. When schedule and availability permits, the NWCC will provide in-kind support in the form of housing in Red Cloud.

To apply, please send to Beth Burke (eburke3@unl.edu) as e-mail attachments the following items:

  • your CV (please limit to 2 pages)
  • an application statement of no more than 3 pages describing your proposed research project and the importance of materials and resources at UNL and the NWCC to your project (please be specific).

In addition, one professional letter of recommendation should be sent directly by your recommender to Beth Burke (eburke3@unl.edu). The letter should be specific to the fellowship and proposed project rather than a general letter of recommendation (such as a letter from job placement dossier).

Please address questions about these grants to Melissa J. Homestead, the director of the Cather Project (mhomestead2@unl.edu).

The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment.