Grants

Peer Mentoring Clusters Grants

 

Application Opens: December 18, 2023


Application Deadline: March 20, 2024

 

Peer Mentoring Cluster Grants support the development of small groups of peers whose interactions enrich and strengthen teaching and the teaching life. The grants, awarded in amounts up to $10,000, serve full-time BIPOC faculty who teach Religion or Theology at colleges, universities and theological schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. These small groups make space for learning, professional growth, mutual support, and communal care. 

Peer mentoring conversations–helpful in all seasons of a career–can surface ways to meet the demands of teaching and administrative responsibilities. Minoritized faculty face particular challenges and pressures. Fostering collaborative dialogues of solidarity through peer mentoring is critical for thriving in the academy, providing BIPOC colleagues with strategies to navigate career issues and work-life balance. Peer Mentoring Cluster Grants strengthen those committed to mutually advancing the professional and personal effectiveness of teaching in higher education and theological education.  

Typically, the clusters are designed for 6-8 gatherings over the arc of a year–within the parameters of the Wabash Center mission. At least one gathering must be a face-to-face retreat. The conversational focus of PMC Grant, decided while writing the proposal, must be some aspect, practice, or issue of teaching or the teaching life.  

Participating in a past or current Wabash Center workshop is not a requirement for faculty considering applying for this grant.

The Wabash Center encourages the exploration and utilization of the following principles and practices in the cluster’s design and planning: 

  • Peer Mentoring Clusters honor a communal approach toward relationship building, which engenders reciprocity. 
  • Peer Mentoring Clusters consider norms of engagement that deemphasize hierarchy and encourage circular/communal models for mentoring.
  • Peer Mentoring Clusters thrive when cluster members relate through compassion, curiosity, honest communication, and collaboration.
  • Peer-to-peer mentoring flourishes when cluster members work together to curate a hospitable gathering space that is safe, brave, and sacred where peers can bring their whole self.
  • Peer-to-peer mentoring flourishes when cluster members work together to cultivate a relational environment that privileges concern for healthy growth and facilitates collegial exploration and learning.
  • Peer-to-Peer mentoring can help cluster members identify pedagogical postures, practices, habits, and tools that build from your wholeness.
  • Peer-to-Peer mentoring can help cluster members consider and engage the multiple kinds of support, coaching, guidance, training, and continued education needed for the potential long-arch of the teaching life.

Successful proposals: 

  • are focused upon the needs of BIPOC scholars’ identities and professional thriving 
  • are imaginative and creative concerning ways to strengthen and enrich teaching and the teaching life 
  • clearly communicate a focus for each of the peer-to-peer BIPOC clusters as well as a clear focus for each of the meetings over a year’s time
  • emphasize cultural celebration 
  • emphasize cultural and racial identity (communal and personal) 
  • facilitate issues of repair, restoration, healing, resilience, and agency
  • are designed with the intention to deepen collegial connections among cluster members through activities, conversations, encounters, discoveries and mutual care
  • engage mind, body, and spirit through embodied practices and rituals
  • emphasize the distinctiveness of the schools’ contexts inhabited by each participant 
  • build a network of support for the exploration of employment context, vocation, and the teaching life ate space to foster dialogues of honesty, vulnerability, and empowerment 

Submitting a Peer Mentoring Cluster Proposal

Application Deadline: March 20, 2024.

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Through the online application portal, applicants are required to attach the required documents (pdf format) to the online application, including a signed copy of the Grant Information Form, the Proposal Narrative & Budget, and a CV document containing one-page CVs of each participant. 

Grant Information Form

  • The form requests information necessary for the consideration of your proposal (including contact information, grant project dates, and amount of the grant).

This form requires contact information and signatures for: 

  • The Cluster Leader (the person(s) responsible for providing narrative report on grants, typically the person(s) overseeing the administration of the grant and writing the project proposal to apply for the grant).
  • Cluster Participants (NO SIGNATURES REQUIRED).
  • The Financial Contact (the person responsible for receiving the check and providing financial reports of expenditures for the institution). This should be a different person than the project director.
  • The Authorization Contact (the person authorized to sign grant requests for the institution).

Proposal Narrative

In 1000-1250 words, please:

  • Describe the focus of the proposed BIPOC peer-to-peer mentoring cluster, the relevant context for this work, and why it is necessary for you at this time. Describe the racial and identity politics the members of your cluster are navigating.
  • List 3-4 aims/goals you have for mentoring, building networks, nurturing friendships, and/or moving toward community within the cluster. State how you will know, after a year of meetings, that this set of conversations has met your aims/goals.
  • Describe who will be involved in the cluster and what they will contribute to the articulated goal(s).
  • Describe the collaborative practices and processes for internal evaluation to assess what is happening throughout the cluster cycle.
  • Narrate the structure and timing of the conversations and gatherings, including details about the strategies and objectives for each stage; group activities, rituals, excursions, and encounters throughout the mentoring cluster cycle; cultural enrichment relevant to the focus of the peer-to-peer mentoring cluster, and facilitated discussions germane to the focus.

Budget

  • On one page, provide a line-item budget with a narrative explanation that indicates the main expense categories for the project and how the costs for each item were determined. Institutional indirect costs are not permitted for this size of grant

CV

  • Attach one document containing a one-page CV for each of the participants in the Peer Mentoring Cluster 

On what can grant funds be spent?

Grant funds can be spent on items and activities such as:

  • Childcare, elder care, house sitting to support attendance to group gatherings
  • Meals or groceries for gatherings
  • Travel, meals, lodging (retreat center, hotel, conference center, rented house)
  • Stipends (meager) for participation in the group
  • Equipment, supplies, materials to support group meeting and discussions
  • Honorariums for guest resource persons with group
  • Entrance fees or tickets for cultural events, museums, concerts, etc.
  • Germane services (e.g., coaching, gym memberships, spa, spiritual direction, workshop registrations, etc.)

Activities and items NOT Funded:

  • Research
  • International travel
  • Travel for attendance to disciplinary conferences
  • The preparation of textbooks
  • Research focused primarily on field content and only secondarily on teaching
  • Publication of conference papers or books, or production costs of other media
  • Stipends for writing the grant proposal or making application for the grant
  • Home utilities should group convene online
  • Items designated as gifts, presents, offerings or donations
  • Travel, meals, lodging expenses should family or friends accompany participant on an extended conversation

Please note that the grants of the Wabash Center are not intended for the use of underwriting the ordinary, ongoing work of the professorate, much of which is already supported by the home institution or department. The grants funds are meant to be used to support and strengthen teaching and the teaching life. The above lists are not exhaustive. All projects and budget expenditures must be in alignment with the Wabash Center mission.

Wabash Center Mission

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you provide some examples of the sorts of projects this program is intended to fund?
Answer:
We have intentionally chosen to not provide illustrations of exemplary projects in order to not limit the imagination and creativity of applicants’ ideas. However, you may look at the list of previously awarded clusters (above).

Who is eligible to apply?
Answer:
The applicant (Cluster Leader) must be BIPOC and teaching Religion or Theology full-time at a college, university, or theological school.

Must every participant in the Cluster have been a participant in a Wabash Center workshop or colloquy?
Answer:
No.

Must every participant in the Cluster be teaching theological or religious studies in higher education?
Answer:
No. A Cluster may include others, but since our intention is to support faculty in the fields of theological and religious studies, we would expect the majority of the Cluster participants to fit this label and that others’ participation be explained (briefly) in the cover letter.

How small or how large can Clusters be?
Answer:
There is no absolute cut-off point. The amount of funding is one limiting factor. Also, consider how small or how large a group can be and still have effective conversation. Our assumption is that Clusters of between 3 to 6 participants would be a good range.

How often should clusters meet, and for how many years?
Answer:
The number and format of the meetings will depend upon the proposal itself. Costs for travel and hospitality will limit the number of meetings. There is no specific number of meetings or length of time. Our hope is that the grant will be the catalyst to begin this peer work and that other professional development money could be used to continue the meetings once the Wabash Center funding is gone.

Can Clusters meet “virtually” (online)?
Answer:
Yes. But we would expect at least one face-to-face meeting between cluster participants and an explanation in the cover letter as to why this seems to be the best way to carry out the conversations.

Can funds be used as stipends or honoraria in compensation for work and time?
Answer: Yes. But stipends should be minimal for the participants in the Cluster, and larger for an outside expert who is used in some way. We assume that all members of the Cluster will be gaining from the meetings and conversations and will not need a full stipend to be involved.

How rigid is the distinction between research and teaching?
Answer:
This is not a research grant but talk about research and scholarship is not restricted or prohibited. Because the Wabash Center’s mission is to strengthen and encourage faculty member’s reflection on teaching, the funding is for that purpose. Research and scholarship might result from these Clusters, but this should not be the primary focus of conversation.

Can I participate in more than one Cluster?
Answer:
No.

 

 

Previous Awardees

 

List of 2022-2023 Peer Mentoring Clusters

Interdisciplinary Mentoring: Connection and Support Across Fields
Herbert Marbury, Vanderbilt Divinity School(cluster leader)
Nyasha Junior, Temple University
Michelle Watkins, University of San Diego
Leonard McKinnis, Saint Louis University

Asian American Feminist Peer Mentoring for Creative Pedagogy and Collective Healing through Asian American Arts
K.Christine Pae, Denision University (cluster leader)
Nami Kim, Spelman College
Boyung Lee, Iliff School of Theology
Su Yon Pak, Union Theological Seminary – NY

Beyond Survival: Black Women Jr. Scholars Flourishing in Teaching and Writing
Kishundra King, Colgate Rochester Croozier Divinity School
Shatavia Wynn, Rhodes College
Joi Orr, Interdenominational Theological Center
Chelsea Yarborough, Vanderbilt University

Embodying Black and Asian American Solidarity through Relationships
AHyun Lee, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
Rachelle Green, Fordham University
Maria Lui Wong, City Seminary of New York

Pre-Tenure Faculty of Color at a Research University
Luis Menendez, Boston University
Shively T.J. Smith, Boston University
Filipe Maia, Boston University

Taking the Risk of Nurturing Theological Imagination and Embodied Pedagogy in Higher Theological Education
Lis Valle, McCormack Theological School
Rodolfo Nolasco, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
Jeney Park-Hearn, Seattle University

Navigating Challenges and Opportunities: Nurturing Early Career Indonesian Professors in Theology and Religion
Ekaputra Tupamahu, Portland Seminary
Hans Harmakaputra, Augustana University
Lailatul Fitriyah, Claremont School of Theology

African American Women Faculty Cultivating and Directing Grant Programs While Teaching
Monique Moultrie, Georgia State University
Stephanie Crumpton, McCormick Theological Seminary
Melanie Jones, Union Presbyterian Seminary
Rosetta Ross, Spelman College


List of 2021-2022 Peer Mentoring Clusters

To Complete Our Story: Where Do We Go from Here?
John J Ahn, Howard University School of Divinity (cluster leader)
Paul Cho, Wesley Theological Seminary
Hyun Chul Paul Kim, Methodist Theological School in Ohio

Building Bridges between Generations and Cultures: Aspirations of 3 Chinese North American Women Theological Educators
Joyce Chan, Carey Theological College (cluster leader)
Maria Liu Wong, City Seminary of New York
Chloe Sun, Logos Evangelical Seminary

Wholeness for Black Women Scholars: Embodying a Radical Self Love Ethic in Teaching, Scholarship, and Service
Ashley Hicks White, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Angela R. Cowser, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Timone Davis, Loyola University Chicago Institute of Pastoral Studies

Korean-American Women in New Testament Studies
Jin Young Choi, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity
Jung Hyun Choi, Duke Divinity School
Janette H. Ok, Fuller Theological Seminary
Angela Kim Harkins, Boston College School of Theology & Ministry


List of 2020-2021 Peer Mentoring Clusters

Embodying the Past, Present, and Future of Korean American Protestant Preaching in the U.S.
Sunggu Yang, George Fox University (cluster leader)
Namjoong (Kevin) Kim, Claremont School of Theology
Rebecca Jeong, Portland Seminary

Cultivating Joy as Power and Resistance
Christine Hong, Columbia Theological Seminary (cluster leader)
Roshan Iqbal, Agnes Scott College
Cuilan Lui, University of Pittsburgh
Zayn Kassam, Pomona College
Harshita Kamath, Emory University
Jung Hyun Choi, Duke Divinity School
Yii-Jan Lin, Yale Divinity School
Sailaja Krishnamurti, Saint Mary’s University (Nova Scotia)
Chrissy Lau, California State University – Monterey
Su Yon Pak, Union Theological Seminary – NY
Samira Mehta, University of Colorado at Boulder

Teaching, Research, Leadership, and Service II: Finding Flow in Scholarly Identity, Spiritual Creativity, and Intellectual Community
Carolyn Medine, University of Georgia (cluster leader)
Helen Rhee, Westmont College
Melanie Harris, Texas Christian University

Academic Leadership as Pedagogy and Vocation
Lerone Martin, Washington University(cluster leader)
Josef Sorett, Columbia University
Jonathan Walton, Wake Forest University Divinity School
Jamil Drake, Florida State University

Women of Color Faculty Members Transitioning to New Teaching Contexts
Monica Coleman, University of Delaware (cluster leader)
Grace Kao, Claremont School of Theology
Najeeba Syeed, Chicago Theological Seminary


List of 2019-2020 Peer Mentoring Clusters

Negotiating Identity: Claiming Our Spaces
Swasti Bhattacharyya, Buena Vista University (cluster leader)
Verna Ehret, Mercyhurst University
Elaine Nogueira-Godsey, Methodist Theological School in Ohio

Mid-career Faculty of Caribbean Descent: An Unusual Cohort Among Teachers of Religion
Althea Spencer-Miller, Drew Theological School (cluster leader)
Margaret Aymer, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Steed Davidson, McCormick Theological Seminary
Mignon Jacobs, Fuller Theological Seminary

Leading Antiracist and Cross Cultural Competency from the Margins
Damayanthi Niles, Eden Theological Seminary (cluster co-leader)
Sharon Tan, Eden Theological Seminary (cluster co-leader)
Eleazar Fernandez, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
J. Samuel Subramanian, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Pamela Ayo Yetunde, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

Cuban-American Scholars: Identity and Reconciliation
Albert Hernández, Iliff School of Theology (cluster leader)
Luis Pedraja, Quinsigamond Community College
Michelle Maldonado, University of Miami
Ramon Luzarraga, Benedictine University
Margarita Suárez, Meredith College
Elsie Miranda, Barry University
Miguel De La Torre, Iliff School of Theology

Emancipatory Teaching, Scholarship, and Pedagogy in the Era of Pax Americana
Angela Cowser, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (cluster leader)
Jennifer Leath, Iliff School of Theology
Asante Todd, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Alton Pollard, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Black Women Embodying Authenticity as Women, Teachers, Scholars and Mentors
Janice McLean-Farrell, New Brunswick Theological Seminary (cluster leader)
Mitzi Smith, Ashland Theological Seminary
Sheila Winborne, Northeastern University

Navigating Various Faculty Roles in Community
Neomi DeAnda, University of Dayton (cluster leader)
Néstor Medina, Independent Scholar
Matilde Moros, New Brunswick Theological Seminary

Flow of Life: Teaching, Research, Leadership and Service
Melanie Harris, University of Denver (cluster leader)
Carolyn Medine, University of Georgia
Helen Rhee, Westmont College

Overcoming Pedagogical Challenges Faced by Asian American Professors: Accent, Language, and Race
Joseph Cheah, University of St. Joseph (cluster leader)
Tamara Ho, University of California – Riverside
Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Earlham School of Religion
Jung Eun Sophia Park, Holy Names University


List of 2018-2019 Peer Mentoring Clusters

Non-Normative Texts and Non-Normative Bodies
Angela Harkins, Boston College School of Theology & Ministry (cluster leader)
Mary Foskett, Wake Forest University
Frances Flannery, James Madison University
Jae Hee Han, University of Pennsylvania
Lily Vuong, Central Washington University
Annette Reed, New York University

Racialization and the Study of Islam: Navigating Teaching and Service
Martin Nguyen, Fairfield University (cluster leader)
Hussein Rashid, Barnard College
Sylvia Chan-Malik, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Arshad Ali, George Washington University

Listening from Within: From Surviving to Flourishing in Academia
Shanell Smith, Hartford Seminary (cluster leader)
Teresa Delgado, Iona College|
Jennifer Kaalund, Iona College
Eboni Marshall Turman, Yale Divinity School

Leadership Development for Theological Faculty with Multicultural and Multi-Professional Identities
Moses Biney, New York Theological Seminary (cluster leader)
Jin Han, New York Theological Seminary
Tamara Henry, New York Theological Seminary
Insook Lee, New York Theological Seminary 

Minoritized Faculty Teaching Biblical Studies in the Northeastern Liberal Arts Environment
Jacqueline Hidalgo, Williams College (cluster leader)
Tat-siong Benny Liew, College of the Holy Cross
Emerson Powery, Messiah College


List of 2017-2018 Peer Mentoring Clusters

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land? Peer-Mentoring for Vocational Longevity among Caribbean American Biblical Scholars
Margaret Aymer Oget, Austin Presbyterian Theological School (Cluster Leader)
Steed Davidson, McCormick Theological Seminary
Mignon Jacobs, Fuller Theological Seminary
Althea Spencer-Miller, Drew University

Womanist Separation for Wholeness
Wilda Gafney, Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University (Cluster Leader)
Pamela Lightsey, Boston University School of Theology
Valerie Bridgeman, Fuller Theological Seminary

Peer Mentoring Cluster: Transnational Korean Women Faculty Mentoring
K. Christine Pae, Denison University (Cluster Leader)
Jin Young Choi, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity
W. Anne Joh, Garrett-Evangelical Seminary
Nami Kim, Spelman College
Boyung Lee, Pacific School of Religion/Iliff
Seung Ai Yang, Chicago Theological Seminary

Teaching as Racialized Bodies
Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Earlham School of Religion (Cluster Leader)
Grace Kao, Claremont School of Theology
Linda Thomas, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

1903: Returning to the Past, Negotiating the Future
Roger Nam, George Fox University (Cluster Leader)
John Ahn, Howard University Divinity School
Paul Cho, Wesley Theological Seminary
Paul Kim, Methodist Theological School in Ohio
Bo Lim, Seattle Pacific University

Being a Paracletos to One Another: Peer Mentoring Cluster for Four West-Coast Korean-American Biblical Scholars
Eugene Park, San Francisco Theological Seminary/Graduate Theological Union (Cluster Leader)
Uriah Kim, Graduate Theological Union
Kyong-Jin Lee, Fuller Theological Seminary
Janette Ok, Azusa Pacific Seminary at Azusa


List of 2016-2017 Peer Mentoring Clusters

Sustaining a Sense of Vocation through Latino/a Peer Mentoring
Gregory Cuéllar, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Cluster Leader)
Cláudio Carvalhaes, McCormick Theological Seminary
Angela Tarángo, Trinity University
Christopher Tirres, Depaul University
Santiago Slabodsky, Hofstra University

Working Together as Colleagues for Mutual Mentoring & Success
Miguel De La Torre, Iliff School of Theology (Cluster Leader)
Luis León, University of Denver
Albert Hernández, Iliff School of Theology
George Tinker, Iliff School of Theology
Jennifer Leath, Iliff School of Theology
Michele Watkins-Branch, Iliff School of Theology

Keeping the Faith: Teaching Hard Truths in Troubled Times
Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Society of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion (Cluster Leader)
Anthony Pinn, Rice University
Juan Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
Blanche Cook, Wayne State University

Mentoring for Interdisciplinary Latinx Religion Scholars
Jacqueline Hidalgo, Williams College (Cluster Leader)
Neomi DeAnda, University of Dayton
Peter Mena, Phillips Theological Seminary

Navigating Mid-Career in Teaching and Research for Korean Women Faculty
Wonhee Anne Joh, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Cluster Leader)
Seung Ai Yang, Chicago Theological Seminary
Boyung Lee, Pacific School of Religion
Nami Kim, Spelman College
K. Christine Pae, Denison University
Jin Young Choi, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Philadelphia Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Cluster
Nyasha Junior, Temple University (Cluster Leader)
Emerson Powery, Messiah College
AnneMarie Mingo, Pennsylvania State University
Stephanie Crumpton, Lancaster Theological Seminary
Richard Newton, Elizabethtown College

Seen Yet Unseen: Underrepresented Asian American Faculty
Hyun Paul Kim, Methodist Theological School in Ohio (Cluster Leader)
John Ahn, Howard University School of Divinity
Bo Lim, Seattle Pacific University
Roger Nam, George Fox Evangelical Seminary
Paul Cho, Wesley Theological Seminary

Mentoring Through Marginalized Realities: Female Faculty of Color at Beloit College
Debra Majeed, Beloit College (Cluster Leader)
Jennifer Esperanza, Beloit College
Nicole Truesdell, Beloit College
Lisa Anderson-Levy, Beloit College
Sonya Maria Johnson, Beloit College

Peer Mentoring Cluster
Carolyn Medine, University of Georgia (Cluster Leader)
Melanie Harris, Texas Christian University
Helen Rhee, Westmont College
Swasti Bhattacharyya, Buena Vista University

Teaching the Bible in a Rapidly Changing World
Kenneth Ngwa, Drew Theological School (Cluster Leader)
Aliou Niang, Union Theological Seminary (NYC)
Andrew Mbuvi, Shaw University Divinity School
AliceYafeh-Deigh, Azusa Pacific University

Discernment in These Times: Career Explorations of Four Teachers Who Lead While Called to Follow
Stephen Ray, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (Cluster Leader)
Nancy Westfield, Drew University Theological School
Barbara Holmes, United Theological Seminary Twin Cities
Dale Andrews, Vanderbilt Divinity School

African American Women Negotiating Academia with Self-Care
Mitzi Smith, Ashland Theological Seminary (Cluster Leader)
Sheila Winborne, Northeastern University
Janice McLean-Farrell, City Seminary of New York

Peer Mentoring Cluster
Julia Speller, Chicago Theological Seminary (Cluster Leader)
Lee Butler, Chicago Theological Seminary
JoAnne Terrell, Chicago Theological Seminary
Christopher Ringer, Chicago Theological Seminary

Cultural Taxation on African American Mothers in Theological Education
Andrea White, Union Theological Seminary (NYC) (Cluster Leader)
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, Chicago Theological Seminary
Monica Coleman, Claremont School of Theology
Yolanda Pierce, Princeton Theological Seminary
Chanequa Walker-Barnes, McAfee School of Theology


 

Protocols

 

Funding

The funding for this program will be sent to the business office of the school where the project director is employed to be dispersed according to the approved budget.

Because of the small size of the grant amount, there will be no indirect costs allocated to the hosting institution. Any significant changes occurring in the makeup of the participants or the structure of the gatherings needs to be checked with the Wabash Center.




Meeting of Cluster Leaders:

Each year, Wabash Center convenes cluster leaders (project directors), whose proposals have been accepted, for a required initial meeting. This (online) meeting is scheduled for May 1, 2024 at 12pm ET. The aim of this meeting is to help cluster leaders increase capacity for designed conversations, community formation, and processes of mentoring. The meeting conversation includes sharing plans and designs with one another to strengthen and refine all the groups.  

Final Reports

All grants require a final report that reviews and analyzes the things learned in the course of the grant project and that accounts for the funds spent. Reports are due 30 days after the close of the grant period. Consult your grant contract for deadlines specific to your grant. 



Peer Mentoring Cluster Reporting Guidelines (pdf)

Additional questions, please contact:

Gina Robinson, Ph.D
robinsog@wabash.edu
Associate Director, Wabash Center

Wabash Center