Gonzaga University
Faculty Diversity Grant Program
Request for Proposals (RFP)

Purpose:

Gonzaga University’s mission specifically invites us, as faculty members, to challenge our students to think critically about social justice issues and to assist our students in developing an understanding of and compassion for individuals who—by virtue of their race, ethnicity, sex, gender, economic class, or physicality—are seen as different and adversely treated as such.

Being charged with such a teaching task is one thing. Being equipped with the knowledge, skill sets, and pedagogical practices to execute such a task is another. The purpose of this RFP process is to address this difficulty by providing an opportunity for Gonzaga faculty to attend the annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE) in San Francisco, May 29 – June 2, 2007 (http://www.ncore.ou.edu/). The Faculty Diversity Grant Program will fund a cohort of four Gonzaga faculty to attend this conference.

Conference attendance will provide opportunities a) to learn how other university instructors are implementing solutions to these same classroom challenges, b) to engage in meaningful dialogue with colleagues at other universities and with colleagues at GU about such challenges, c) to foster an energy and excitement about addressing such challenges in one’s teaching, and d) to facilitate the networking of professors along these lines. Participating faculty members will be asked to attend the conference together, discuss conference sessions as a group, and present “useful conference findings” at an organized faculty forum upon their return.

Costs Covered Per Person:

- Registration: $595 (if submitted before March 30, 2007)
- Airfare: $382 (round trip to San Francisco from Spokane)
- Lodging: $752.73 (four nights @ $165 per night at the conference hotel, the Hilton San Francisco; includes all applicable taxes)
- Not covered: meals
- Not covered: ground transportation

Sponsoring Parties: The funding for this initiative is being provided by the Office of Intercultural Relations. The initiative itself is being jointly sponsored by Dr. Raymond Reyes, Associate Mission VP for Intercultural Relations; Dr. Rose Mary Volbrecht, Chair of the Social Justice Core Requirement Committee; and Dr. Teresa Derrickson, Director of the Center for Teaching & Advising.

Eligibility: Any full-time Gonzaga University faculty member

Deadline: Applications are due by Friday, February 2nd.

Application Process: Please fill out the following application form, sign it, and return it to Teresa Derrickson at AD Box 18 (or to derrickson@gonzaga.edu). Applications will be reviewed in February, and selections will be made by March 1st.

Contact Information: For more information, please contact Rose Mary Volbrecht (x6756) or Teresa Derrickson (x6717).