The Collaborative Study and Research (COSTAR) program encourages faculty partnerships during the summer. Such collaboration between faculty offers shared encouragement, new knowledge and learning, and the grounding for long-term, collegial interaction. These interactions may take different shapes. One proposal might outline a simple sharing of research areas. For example, an historian might work with a literary scholar interested in the same period or issues, or colleagues might examine a single concept from two methodological or theoretical perspectives. They may study a pedagogical or student development question. These collaborations may produce a co-authored scholarly paper or a tandem course. They may be initially exploratory, but forge lasting connections. The process as much as the product is the point of the COSTAR program. Grants will be read by the CFAI Grants Committee.
Application Guidelines • Past COSTAR Winners
Eligibility: The COSTAR Program is open to all full-time faculty. Part-time faculty who have taught for five semesters at Saint Mary's College are also eligible. Although designed to bring faculty from different departments together, collaborative projects between two persons in the same department are possible. Nonetheless, collaborations in which different disciplines or methodologies are engaged are especially valued and will receive preference from the CFAI Grants Committee. Each COSTAR team will also be responsible for providing the Center for Academic Innovation with a written report. A maximum of two COSTAR teams may be awarded each academic year.
Time Commitment: The faculty must commit to at least six weeks of working together during the summer.
Stipend: Each faculty member receives a taxable stipend of $2,500 to support work in the COSTAR partnership during the summer. The faculty member may choose to receive the stipend in his/her paycheck or may use the stipend to establish an account from which funds may be drawn (or may receive some of the stipend in each). If the account option is used, computers and other "durable" goods purchased through the account belong to the College. Specific issues may be discussed with the Center.
Project Description: The written application consists of four parts. Parts (1) and (2) should consist of four to six typewritten double-spaced pages.
1. Include a description of each colleague's part of the project written by the individual faculty member addressing the following questions:
a. How did the project come about?
b. Why do you think this project is worth doing?
c. What are the main issues of the project?
d. How much can be completed in one summer?
2. Include a description showing how the two components complement each other and how the colleagues plan to work together. This portion of the application should be written in collaboration and should offer considerable detail on what you expect to gain from this collaboration. Finally, indicate what the project will produce (book, conference paper, tandem course, etc.).
3. Include brief curriculum vitae that indicate the faculty members’ preparation for the particulars of this project.
4. Include a description of other summer obligations and grants, including other Saint Mary's College grants.
2008
Frances Hwang, English Julie Long, Library 2007
Leslie Wang, Sociology
Exploring Cultural Identities
Mary Ann Traxler, Education
Multicultural Children's Literature in Review
Carolyne Call, Office for Civic and Social Engagement
Julie Storme, Modern Languages
Listening to Understand: Exploring Issues of Identity with Muslim American Women
Nancy Menk, Music
Laurel Thomas, Music
Singing Nuns: the Women’s Chorus as an Integral Dramatic Component in Ordo Virtutum and Suor Angelica
2006
Mana Derakhshani, Modern Languages
Jennifer Zachman, Modern Languages
Crossing the Pyrenees: Film Theory and Franco-Iberian Cinema
2005
Susan Alexander, Sociology
Astrid Henry, English and Women’s Studies
Feminism and Popular Culture
2003
Astrid Henry, English and Women’s Studies
Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies
Riding the Waves, or What We’ll Be Doing this Summer: Collaborative Research to Create an Interdisciplinary Upper-level Tandem (RLST 362 and WOST 390)
Frances Kominkiewicz, Anthropology and Social Work
Sue Wiegand, Library
The Use of Library Databases by Undergraduate Students
2002
Colleen Hoover, Department of Mathematics
Joanne Snow, Department of Mathematics
Marston Morse: The Man, the Mathematician, the Humanist
Julie Long, Library
Mary Connolly, Department of Mathematics
Research and Resources in a Networked Environment
2001
Mark Abram-Copenhaver, Department of Communication, Dance and Theatre
Renée Kingcaid, Department of Modern Languages
Producing Molière's The Learned Ladies
Ella Sue Harmeyer, Department of Nursing
Jayne E. Kendle, Department of Nursing
Assessing the Respite Needs of Families With Children with Special Needs Living in Elkhart and Saint Joseph Counties
Catherine M. Pittman, Department of Psychology
Nancy Turner, Department of Education
College Students with Learning-Related Difficulties: Providing Resources to Faculty and Students
2000
Ann Loux, Department of English
Becky Stoddart, Department of Psychology
Story Station w.o.r.l.d.
1999
JoAnn Burke, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department
Jan Pilarski, Justice Education
Faith and Spirituality in Social Work Practice
Susan Alexander, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department
Karen Chambers, Psychology Department
Studying Youth Culture: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methodologies
1998
Toni Barstis, Chemistry/Physics Department
Joanne Snow, Mathematics Department
Interactive Mathematics and Physical Chemistry
Thomas Bonnell, English Department
Katherine Sullivan, Communication, Dance and Theatre Department
John Dryden's Secret Love
Ann Clark, Philosophy Department
Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies Department
Feminist Theory in Practice: Reading, Writing and Transforming Knowledge
1997
Kevin McDonnell, Philosophy Department
Elizabeth Newman, Religious Studies Department
Closer to Home--Christian Identity and Higher Education, Part 2
Rebecca Stoddart, Psychology Department
Jill Vihtelic, Business Administration and Economics
Predicting Women Professors' Job Satisfaction: Does Parental Career Guidance Facilitate Women's Entry into Non-traditional Fields?
1996
Sister Elena Malits, Religious Studies Department
Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies Department
Teaching Teachers for the 21st Century--A Collaborative Approach to Religious Education
Jeffrey Breese, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department
Bonnie Dunwoody, Education Department
Examining the Mission Statements of Women's Colleges, (or) 'This is your mission and if you choose to accept it...'
Patrick Pierce, Political Science Department
Donald Miller, Mathematics Department
Statistical Models of Gambling Revenue Politics
Don Balka, Mathematics Department
Nancy Turner, Education Department
Development of Teacher Resource Material in Mathematics For Use With Students With Disabilities
1995
Zae Munn, Music Department
Deborah Norin-Kuehn, Music Department
A Performer/Composer Collaboration: The Creation and Performance of a Concert Work for Young Audiences
1994
Kevin McDonnell, Philosophy Department
Elizabeth Newman, Religious Studies
Christian Identity and Higher Education (deferred until summer of 1995)
Donald Miller, Mathematics Department
Patrick Pierce, Political Science Department
Politics of State Lotteries: A Structural Equations Approach to Understanding Their Causes and Effects
Jerry McElroy, Business Administration and Economics Department
Jack Ruhe, Business Administration and Economics Department
Spirituality for Women in the Work World
