Funding

Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award

The Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Awards recognize assistant professors whose research or creative activities promise to make significant contributions to their fields of study. 

History

Dr. Stephen Hansen, Graduate School Dean Emeritus, established the Lindsay Research Professorship Endowment that funds the award in honor of Dr. Vaughnie Lindsay, who served as graduate dean from 1973 until 1986 and was responsible for creating infrastructure supporting faculty research and scholarly activity. Faculty and the emeriti faculty at the time of the award's conception donated the funds to endow the award.

Those wishing to help support new investigators through the Vaughnie Lindsay Award may make a donation to the Vaughnie Lindsay Research Professor Endowment.

The Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Awards are made to early career SIUE faculty members to recognize and support individual programs of research or creative activities. These Awards recognize faculty members whose research or creative activities have the promise of making significant contributions to their fields of study.

Definition of Research

Research is broadly defined as all creative, critical, scholarly, and/or empirical activity that expands, clarifies, reorganizes, or develops knowledge or artistic perception. This definition of research includes the demonstration, implementation, application, and dissemination of research results and those grants designated as research by the granting agency. This definition of research does not include departmental curriculum development, faculty development (learning an established technique, a language, or a methodology; dissertation research), institutional research (studies related directly to the operation of the University), and public service and consulting activities. 

Eligibility

To be eligible, a nominee must have:  

• earned the appropriate terminal degree in their discipline
• a regular full-time tenure or clinical track faculty position at the assistant professor level, which must be maintained throughout the award period (July 1-June 30 of the fiscal year following the award date).
• submitted their midpoint dossier for review within the last two academic years
• submitted completed final reports and fulfilled the terms and conditions, including submission of an external proposal, of projects previously funded by the SIUE Graduate School at least 5 business days before this program deadline.  (The nominator may contact siueresearch@siue.edu to verify.)

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, including minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and protected veterans. Faculty with disabilities desiring accommodations in the application process should contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at (618) 650-2333.

The Award can only be received once.  

Nominees can be renominated as long as they meet the above requirements.

Award Description

Up to one Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award will be made per year, pending availability of funds. 

• The award period starts on July 1 of the fiscal year following the award date.
• The award consists of $6,000 from the Graduate School to support the awardee’s research and creative activities.

Terms and Conditions of Award

By accepting the award, the faculty member agrees to give a brief presentation about their research and creative activities or a performance at the Provost’s Celebration of Research Reception.

Timeline/Dates

Nominations must be submitted by a Department Chair or Dean via the Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award Nomination form in Kuali Build no later than the 4:30 pm on the third Monday in October.  Those desiring accommodations in the nomination process should contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at (618) 650-2333. 

The estimated announcement of the awardee(s) is December. 

Nomination Procedure

1. The Department Chair or Dean submits the Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award Nomination form in Kuali Build no later than the third Monday in October. The nominator will include a 2-page support letter that highlights how the nominee meets the selection criteria below.  Strong nomination letters will provide concrete evidence aligning with the selection criteria.  They may quote external letters of support, including the qualifications of the evaluator, and the department evaluation letter.  See the scoring rubric linked below under Selection Criteria.  Review this tool to consider bias in the letter before submitting. 
2. The nomination will then route to the nominee.  If the nominee agrees to the terms and conditions if awarded, they will upload a 2-page cv and research or creative activity statement.
3. The nomination will then route to the Chair or Dean, who will include a support statement.  Strong support statements will provide concrete evidence aligning with the selection criteria below beyond the material provided by the nominator and the nominee.  See the scoring rubric linked below under Selection Criteria.   Review this tool to consider bias in the letter before submitting.
4. The nomination will be reviewed by the Graduate School's Research and Development Committee, who will make recommendations to the Graduate School.

Selection Criteria

The selection process will focus on identifying the nominee whose research or creative activities promise to make the most significant contributions to their fields of study.  The R&D Committee will evaluate the following factors using this scoring rubric:

• history at SIUE of research and creative activity products, including but not limited to presentations, publications, patents, performances, and juried exhibits
• significance of the research and creative activities, including but not limited to national and international awards and nationally or internationally funded projects
• promise of making significant contributions to the field of study.

Other Resources

• Reviewer Guide for Graduate School Internal Grant Programs
• Graduate School x3010 or siueresearch@siue.edu

Previous Awardees