UL Faculty Receive Travel Grants
College of Liberal Arts faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette recently received grant funding for travel expenditures. The funding aided in travel costs and registration fees for national research conferences and presentations. The cost of travel for these conferences was partially softened through aid from Friends of the Humanities.
After having the travel budget cut in half by the university, the College of Liberal Arts and its faculty were struggling to find resources to afford attending conferences. Dr. Jordan Kellman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (COLA) at UL, petitioned for funds to be allocated from Friends to cover the costs. Kellman explained that attendance at conferences is essential to the morale and overall performance of the faculty, college, and university. “It is the mechanism in staying in touch with your field,” he added.
COLA received funds from Friends and distributed them to faculty members attending conferences. These contributions ranged from $250 to $300 per person. Although the amount is considerably less than the total cost of travel for most conferences, the aid provided great relief for faculty and allowed them to engage with scholars from their fields.
Friends supported the conference attendance of 6 faculty members in 2022, including Dr. Sadie Hoagland and Dr. Jessica Alexander who both presented their work at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Annual Conference, Dr. Leslie Bary who presented at the Society for Comparative Literature and the Arts, and Dr. David Squires who presented a paper at the Modern Language Association Conference.
Friends of the Humanities continues to support the Humanities and the College of Liberal Arts with generous donations from our members and the community. Please look out for upcoming events where you can continue to help us support the humanities at UL Lafayette.
