Center for Research and Creative Activities

Internal Grants 

The Salem State University Research Advisory Committee (URAC) administers three types of internal grants to support the research and creative activities of tenure-track or tenured faculty. The scholarship support grants (formerly “mini-grants”) provide up to $1,000 to promote the scholarship, research, publication, and creative work of our faculty; the seed grants (up to $3,000) fund research and other activities undertaken in preparation for application to an external funding body; and the summer research and creative activities grants (up to $4,000) fund research or creative activities undertaken in the summer that will result in publication or presentation at a professional conference, performance, exhibition, or government contract.

For further internal grant information, including deadlines, please visit the CRCA page in Polaris.

External Grant Support

The CRCA also offers a number of resources for faculty applying for external grants to fund research and creative activities. In academic year 2017-2018, through a university strategic planning grant, CRCA, with Sponsored Programs and Research Administration will offer two stipend intensive grant-writing retreats, one in January and one in June. These retreats provide opportunities for faculty to learn the differences between private and government grants, research potential funding sources, receive editorial support and feedback on content, and familiarize themselves with the elements of the grant-writing cycle. At the end of the retreat, faculty will have made significant progress on grant applications, including the creation of a short list of potential external funders. For more details about this program, see the calendar of events page.

In the spring, CRCA also organizes several events geared toward helping faculty apply for a Fulbright Scholarship. CRCA invites a Fulbright representative to campus to discuss opportunities and take questions and sponsors opportunities for interested faculty to meet with previous Fulbright recipients. In the spring and summer, CRCA also organizes writing groups for faculty interested in applying a Fulbright. Look for more details in the spring semester.

The Scholarship Mentoring Program is run by the Center for Research and Creative Activities (CRCA). Recent studies have shown that strong mentorship is vital to a successful and rewarding academic career. The CRCA mentoring program offers a unique opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary community of faculty scholars that support one another and share strategies for success within the university and their respective fields.

This year, the mentoring program will offer a series of monthly meetings and workshops dedicated to helping junior and mid-career faculty to advance their scholarly agenda and manage time effectively. Meetings will facilitate conversations about scholarship and provide ample time to workshop ideas and discuss works in progress. Between monthly meetings, smaller affinity groups will meet with each other informally. There will be a faculty facilitator for each affinity group who will organize meetings and serve as a resource for the group. Ideally, the facilitator will be a tenured faculty member, and their extra time will be compensated with a modest stipend.

If you are interested in becoming a facilitator or a participant, please find the call for participants and facilitators on the CRCA Polaris page.

Named in honor of the distinguished Hawthorne and Melville scholar, Salem State professor Joseph T. Flibbert, these awards have been given for over almost decade in recognition of outstanding graduate student writing and research.

The mission of the university research advisory committee is to:

• Assess needs to promote research and propose plan
• Develop web presence to provide access to resources for faculty and students to conduct research
• Promote dissemination of faculty and student research

Salem State is currently a partner with the  KUL (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin) in Lublin, Poland and the Erasmus+ program to provide student and faculty exchanges. Read additional details on the Erasmus+ program.