Peace and Justice Journalism Program
Request for Faculty Grant Proposals
2006-2007

The Peace and Justice Journalism Program is pleased to announce the availability of grant funding, on a competitive basis, for faculty-led reporting initiatives.

Introduction:

The Peace and Justice Journalism Program in effect began in the spring of 2004, when a team of faculty and students went to El Salvador and covered the story of fair trade coffee. In a second trip a year later, a journalism team went to Swaziland to report on the AIDS epidemic in that country. Those projects were funded by the Plowshares grant with additional support from the CALL grant and a partnering agency, Mennonite Central Committee.

In an effort to bring interdisciplinary resources to the shaping of this emerging program, the dean’s office appointed an advisory council this fall, with representatives from each of the four schools. Members of the advisory council are LisaRenee English, Dean Johnson, Pat McFarlane, Bobby Meyer-Lee and Duane Stoltzfus.

Funding for the Peace and Justice Journalism Program is ensured for two years through the Plowshares grant. The advisory council intends to secure funding from foundations or other sources that will allow the program to continue beyond the next two years.   

Now the advisory council would like to consider initiatives proposed by the GC community. While the first two reporting trips were international in scope, and later proposals may be as well, the advisory council also encourages local and regional initiatives. For example, this year the Peace and Justice Journalism Program is sponsoring a student video documentary contest, along the lines of the C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest, for Goshen, Earlham and Manchester colleges.

Details about the project’s objectives, faculty eligibility, proposal formats and deadlines follow.  

Objectives for the Peace and Justice Journalism Program, which form the primary criteria for evaluating proposals, are as follows:

• To identify compelling subjects for study, especially those that may receive little or no attention in the mainstream press;
• To provide advanced training for students at Goshen College, raising up a new generation of journalists with the skills, experience, and passion for blending professional reporting with concerns for peace and justice;
• To develop interdisciplinary collaboration between the Peace and Justice Journalism Program and academic departments by involving students from various majors;
• To pursue multimedia reporting on topics related to peace and justice at the local, regional, national and international levels;
• To build partnerships with church agencies, mission organizations and others that can help to inform reporting on subjects;
• To disseminate news stories and information to a broad audience, both Christian and secular.

Eligibility:  Goshen College full-time (.75 or above) assistant, associate and full professors who will be continuing at Goshen College the following academic year. Grants are competitive and individual faculty members can receive only one grant per year. While no specific cap has been set for grant awards, applicants should keep in mind that the advisory council has an interest in awarding several projects in each year to be drawn from a total fund of $25,000 per year. The advisory council reserves the right to award partial funding.

Application and Proposal Format: Submit proposals of up to three pages, in the following format, to Duane Stoltzfus, chair of the advisory council:

1. Project description – Describe your proposed project, objectives and timeline for completing these objectives. Please identify the student and faculty participants and the process for selecting the participants. For student participants, outline the details of the collaboration, including the specific roles and responsibilities of each student. In addition, discuss the target audience for your finished products.  Note: students may receive academic credit for their work through Comm 200, Communication Practice, or Comm 412, Special Projects, or through a similar credit opportunity in other academic departments.
   
2. Significance of the project – Discuss the importance of the proposal and why the Peace and Justice Journalism Program should fund it. Explain how this proposal aligns with the objectives of the Peace and Justice Journalism Program outlined above. For example, in what ways does your proposal address a compelling subject? How does your project develop interdisciplinary collaboration? How does the project enhance teaching and learning at Goshen College? How does the project lend itself to further understanding of peace and justice issues?
3. Budget – Provide a detailed budget of all expenditures including travel, lodging, stipends, equipment purchases, outside consultants and/or technicians. In addition, provide justification for each item.  Faculty and students are encouraged to raise part of their own funds, especially for projects that require extensive travel.. (For example, a church or nonprofit agency might provide transportation or housing for the group). This type of collaboration is one of the factors the advisory council will consider when deciding whether to fund a project.
4. Reporting – Create a plan for how you will share what you learned with the college community and a broader audience. Possibilities include but are not limited to Goshen College class and convo presentations; speaking engagements at schools, churches and agencies; published articles; blogs; narrative slide shows; multimedia Web sites; radio reports; and video documentaries.
5. Final report – A final report ( 2-3 pages) must be submitted to the advisory council, via Duane Stoltzfus, within one month of the completion of the project. It should include a summary of budget expenditures and a summary of project outcomes. The report should include reflections on the following questions:

How did the project meet your proposed goals? Did any unexpected events help to shape the final project? What might you do differently next time? What new project ideas arose from your experience?

Due Dates:

Proposals for the academic year 2006-2007 are due by May 30, 2006.  Submit proposals to Duane Stoltzfus via campus mail or e-mail (with attachments sent to dstoltzfus@goshen.edu). Questions about grant proposals can be directed to any member of the advisory council.