Dollars available for diversity

The Academic Committee on Diversity and Minority Affairs (ACODAMA) is accepting proposals for the President’s Diversity Initiative Fund. Created by President David Baltimore in 2001, the fund seeks to foster innovative strategies to actively involve the campus community in diversity efforts related to under-represented minorities and women.

“We’re encouraging people to come up with new ideas and to be creative,” says Professor Joann Stock, chair of ACODAMA. “Someone might have a suggestion but think, ‘Oh, my program is too small (or too large) to get any funding.’ But we’re open to all kinds of ideas. It doesn’t even have to be a new program—you can add a diversity component to an existing program, and we can assist with funding to address that component.”

Examples of previously funded programs include the Caltech Postdoctoral Association’s Women Mentoring Women program, Semana Latina, GradPreview@Caltech, Martin Luther King Jr. Week, College Goal Sunday, the LINKS/Alumni Mentoring project, the Black Graduate Student Association, WEST (Women in Science, Engineering, and Technology), and a student SURF project.

Faculty, students, postdocs, and staff can submit two- to five-page proposals for a variety of diversity initiatives, which may be campuswide or group-specific, large or small, long-term or a single event. Proposals should include two letters of support by Caltech administrators or faculty, and should

• Clearly address how the new initiative relates to increasing the presence, visibility, or support of underrepresented minority or female students, staff, or faculty on campus.

• Include a method for evaluating the extent to which the initiative achieved its goals (reports will be required from groups or individuals who receive funds).

• Indicate the total cost of the initiative and any expected funding from other sources.

Supported by the James Irvine Foundation and internal Institute resources, the fund will distribute up to $25,000 in awards each year. Projects are funded for a maximum of one year at a time, but multiyear projects that successfully meet their diversity goals can request renewals.

ACODAMA considers applications on an ongoing quarterly basis during the academic year. For more information on the proposal process, visit http://diversity.caltech.edu/president.html. Proposals should be submitted to Miriam Feldblum, special assistant to the president, at mail code 08-31. She can also be reached at feldblum@caltech.edu or ext. 3617.
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