Faculty Resources Available From KASC

Faculty may apply for support to offset research-related expenses beyond travel including, but not limited to expenses related to: 

  • attendance at virtual conferences 
  • hiring a research assistant or KU student worker
  • virtual research consultations in the U.S. or abroad
  • remote photocopying/scanning expenses or the like (such as at an archive or library)

Please reach out to Doreen Siilo, KASC Assistant Director, to discuss your specific needs and anticipated expenses in order to see if grant funds may be used. 

Faculty requests for funds that will be used by August 14, 2021 will be given first priority. A second competition may be held in late 2021 or early 2022 if additional grant funds are available then.

Any requests for funds to offset actual travel costs must be for a travel itinerary ultimately approved by both KU (for both domestic and international travel) and the U.S. Department of Education (for international travel only). At this time (February 2021), most KU-approved travel is exclusively by car. Faculty applicants will be responsible for familiarizing themselves with the latest travel restrictions and understanding that conditions may change and lead to the revocation or deferral of any awards issued provisionally.

ColLAB participants in Dar es Salam

More Information

Funding Sources

Due to KASC’s role as one of ten National Resource Centers (NRCs) for African Studies with funding from the U. S. Department of Education for 2018-2022, the Center is able to grant funds to KASC Core and Affiliated faculty members for the following professional endeavors: 

  1. Foreign Travel Grants for Faculty Professional Development, Internship Building & Outreach Support Trips
  2. Foreign Travel Grants to Faculty for African Studies Unit and Pedagogical Material Collection for KU’s Core Curriculum 
  3. Domestic Travel Grants to Faculty for Professional Meetings & Outreach Enhancement
  4. Domestic Travel Grants to Attend the annual African Languages Teachers' Association (ALTA) Conference
  5. Collaborative Course Development Initiative: Team-Taught Seminar with African Studies content in a Professional School at KU
  6. Faculty Summer Salary for Individualized Instruction of a Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL)
  7. Funding for a Graduate Teaching Assistant at .50 FTE to help with Experiential Learning Course Development in Introductory African Studies Courses

The Executive Committee of KASC will oversee the awarding of funds, in consultation with the Center Director, Faculty Associate Director, and Assistant Director. Information about the guidelines for each funding opportunity appears below. Questions about the process of awarding funding should be directed to Doreen Siilo, Assistant Director of KASC, at dsiilo@ku.edu or 785-864-1064.  All funding requests should be submitted as a Word document to the Center’s main email, kasc@ku.edu. Please note that all awards will be contingent on the availability of federal funds and approval by the KASC Executive Committee.