What are Learning Associates?
Learning Associates are graduate scholars, practioners or other experts who work with students at any point during their four years at Bates to develop the skills, knowledge and growth important during their senior thesis experience.
What are the different categories of Learning Associates?
Intermittent - Intermittent Learning Associates connect with students during short visits (less than two weeks) to campus in whatever ways faculty advisors, practitioners, and students deem most useful. Honoraria, room and board and transportation costs are usually covered by the Mellon grant.
Distance - Distance Learning Associates, generally established scholars or practioners, share their expertise with students via e-mail, telephone calls or other means of communication, with occasional visits to campus.
Who may apply for these awards?
Funds are available to faculty in the humanities and social sciences through submission of proposals by individual faculty or department chairs. Faculty may submit proposals for learning associates for interdisciplinary programs if the proposed learning associates and the purposes they serve are grounded in the humanities or social sciences.
Students are encouraged to tell the faculty of their interest in particular scholars or practitioners. In addition, small funds are available to support students' projects such as exhibitions and readings.
What are the size of awards?
Awards to support learning associates depend on their length of stay and level of their expertise. Please contact Dave Baker at dbaker2@bates.edu or 786-6461 for further information.
Inviting Scholars & Experts from Abroad
Inviting scholars, experts, and practitioners from abroad involves considerable time and effort by the College and the visitor, so please weigh your invitations carefully. When applying for support for scholars and others from abroad, faculty must allow time for the College to secure an appropriate visa, usually J-1. For more information, please see Visa Guidlines or contact Kerry O'Brien at kobrien@bates.edu, 753-6952.
What is an example of an application that has been funded?
The most common types of awards given by the Faculty Awards Committee are for artists, writers, policy makers or technicians who are brought into courses as a supplement to the faculty at Bates.
For instance, technical advisors have become learning associates for students working interdisciplinarily on a film studies thesis. These learning associates guide the students work and are able to liaise between the faculty sponsor and the thesis writer.
Additionally, it is common for learning associates to take the form of a guest artist in a Dance or Art class for a few days or weeks. These artists bring expertise from outside of the academic world to complement work being done in the class.
At this time, the Learning Associates Program is unable to fund individuals to teach courses at Bates. If you would like to bring in a lecturer to teach a course, the Dean of Faculty's Office accepts these applications.
How to apply?
Applications are due at before noon on Monday of the day of the deadline in Fall and Winter semesters and, if funds are available, on the first day of short term. Please see the link on the left for application instructions. For more information, please call Dave Baker, Program Administrator, dbaker2@bates.edu, 786-6461.
Application forms are available here:
9/2009
