Walker Fellowship Program

Guidelines

Objective:

The Office of the Provost's at SUNY Potsdam is pleased to announce the continuation of the T. Urling and Mabel Walker Research Fellowship Program for 2013.

The purpose of this program is to encourage faculty from the region’s 11 institutions of higher education to undertake research on critical issues confronting North Country communities, with the objective of making recommendations for their solutions.

This program is designed to provide the opportunity for faculty and staff to use their expertise and training to analyze and propose solutions to the region’s social and economic problems. Additionally, faculty investigators are encouraged to examine the roles in which both the private and public sectors play in providing solutions to regional problems.

Examples of research topics might include: health literacy, education, Native American studies, environmental issues, to name a few.

The Program is designed to promote greater community-academic cooperation than has traditionally been the case in other research programs. Proposals that include a strong statement of support from a local individual/organization that clearly explains how the community will benefit from the project results will be given preference. The Provost's office will disseminate the results of completed studies.

 

Funding:

Funding for this program comes from the Campaign for  the T. Urling and Mabel Walker Research Fellowship Program,  administered by the SUNY Potsdam's Office of the Provost and College Advancement. Approximately four research projects of up to $5,000 will be awarded this year. The amount of the award for each project will be determined by the Walker Fellowship Steering Committee. In the past, funds have been used to pay a student assistant, support travel costs, purchase software or other supplies. Only in limited cases have funds been used as a stipend for the researcher.

 

Eligibility:

Full- or part-time teaching and non-teaching faculty from any of the region’s 11 institutions of higher education (Adirondack Community College, Clarkson University, Clinton Community College, Jefferson Community College, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, North Country Community College, Paul Smith’s College, St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton, SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Potsdam) are eligible to apply for funding.

 

Application Procedure:

  1. Proposals should be submitted on the attached application form by January 16, 2013. 
  2. Applications will be evaluated by the Walker Fellowship Steering Committee based on the criteria below. 
  3. Recommendations will be submitted to the President of SUNY Potsdam for final decision. 
  4. Applicants will be notified of the award by early March 2013. 
 

Criteria:

Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

  1. description of the problem and expected benefits to the community (30 points) 
  2. community support (25 points); 
  3. investigation procedure/methodology (20 points); 
  4. background and previous research (15 points); 
  5. funding request/budget (10 points); 
  6. the likelihood that the proposed project will be completed at the stated time.


Administration:

The T. Urling and Mabel Walker Research Fellowship Program is administered by the Office of the Provosts at SUNY Potsdam with the assistance of the Walker Fellowship Steering Committee, whose members come from various North Country colleges and universities.


  For additional information, please contact Margaret Madden at 315.267.2108
or e-mail maddenme@potsdam.edu