Four $1000 grants are available to Messina faculty pairs for the 2023-2024 academic year. The purpose of the grants is to foster integrated planning and teaching (collaboration), and community engaged learning, that also addresses the assigned Messina theme of a faculty pair. If a Messina Mentor is integral to the integrated planning, the faculty pair may ask for $1500. Priority will be given to grant applicants that address racial justice and antiracism. The faculty pairs who receive grants will work with CCSJ to identify an appropriate community partner and facilitate plans. 

Who is Eligible to Apply? 

All faculty teaching in Messina during the 2023-2024 academic year are encouraged to apply. Only one application per faculty pairing is required.

How to Apply

Applicants should submit all of the following documents: 

• A cover page indicating how long each instructor has taught in Messina, each instructor’s academic discipline, and whether this is a new pairing or if the instructors have been paired in previous years. 
• A clear and concise (no more than 2 pages) statement of what will be the purpose of the collaboration, e.g. to facilitate student engagement, to help students appreciate how the two respective disciplines can complement one another and promote a richer understanding of the relevant Messina theme, to show students that scholarship is often an interdisciplinary endeavor.   
• A clear and concise action-plan detailing how the collaboration will take place, e.g. weekly planning meetings, a longer planning meeting before the start of the semester with periodic check-ins. 
• A brief statement of how the recipients intend to assess the effectiveness of the collaboration and course integration. This statement should address how the collaboration and integration directly supports one or more of the Messina Learning Outcomes.
• A CV for each instructor. 

Schedule and Accountability 

October 2: Faculty pairs submit proposals, including the material mentioned above.

October 16: Applicants will be notified as to whether their grant proposals were chosen.

Late October/Early November: Grant recipients meet with CCSJ’s faculty director of Community-Engaged Learning and Scholarship Stephen Park to coordinate and facilitate final plans. 

Spring 2024: Grant recipients incorporate their planned activities/events/learning opportunities into their Spring Messina sections. Late in the semester, grant recipients are expected to lead a discussion on faculty collaboration and course integration at a Messina organized meeting or workshop. 

May 30: Grant recipients submit course syllabi, instructional resources used in the collaborate and course integration, and a brief description of what the faculty pair did to Messina and CCSJ.

June 15: Grant recipients submit a brief self-assessment of their collaboration and success for course integration. This assessment could be included in a faculty annual update. 

Deadline for Applications and How to Submit Applications

Applications must be received no later than October 2, 2023; successful applicants will be notified no later than October 16, 2023. All materials should be Word documents. Applications should be submitted as an email attachment sent to Messina@loyola.edu.

Additional Information

Prospective applicant should contact messina@loyola.edu with any questions or concerns.