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Helen Firstbrook Franklin Scholarship Program

Program Update: We regret to announce that due to insufficient scholarship funds, as of February 2024, we are currently unable to accept applications from affiliate department/programs for the 2024-2025 academic year for the Helen Firstbrook Franklin Scholarship Program (HFSS).

The Helen Firstbrook Franklin Scholarship Program (HFFS) enables top entering graduate students with Latin American, Caribbean, or Iberian commitments to focus on their studies during their first academic year at the University of Wisconsin. “Latin American, Caribbean, or Iberian commitments” are understood to mean (1) a primary commitment to area studies as such, or (2) a substantial research component or comparativist component within a curriculum that has professional goals outside area studies.

Applications are by departmental nomination and should include:

  1. A departmental letter of nomination signed by the Chair;
  2. Two outside letters of recommendation (can be from the student’s graduate school application);
  3. Student’s updated c.v. (can be from the student’s graduate school application);
  4. A statement of purpose (can be from the student’s graduate school application).

Completed applications are due the second Friday of February each year. Please complete the application HERE.

Applications will be considered by the LACIS Fellowships and Scholarships Committee. A decision should be announced by mid-March.

Applicants selected to receive the Helen Firstbrook Franklin Scholarship have until April 15th to notify LACIS of their intent to accept or decline the award.

Meet our 2019-2020 Helen Firstbrook Franklin Scholarship Recipient, Anika Rice!

Nave Visiting Scholar and Artist Grant Program

The Nave Visiting Scholars and Artists Program is designed to bring distinguished scholars, artists, public figures, or activists specializing in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, or Portugal to the UW-Madison campus for short visits. Each visitor is expected to deliver one formal public lecture or performance. Applications may be initiated by faculty, staff, or student organizations. Awarded funds can be allocated towards an honorarium, travel, lodging, and food for a one-day visit. Because of the heavy demand for Nave Visiting Scholar and Artist funds, applications with another source of funding will receive preference. Funding decisions are made by the Nave Visiting Scholars and Artists Committee.

Responsibilities of Initiating Department

In considering whether to invite a speaker to Madison on the Nave Visiting Scholars and Artists Program, please remember that it is necessary to facilitate the visitor’s stay as much as possible. Our financial specialist team can assist with some of the travel arrangements, if applicable. However, the initiator of this application should plan to facilitate all of the technology related to a virtual presentation.

Thus, if the application includes a request for funding to cover flights and a hotel, the IRIS TEMS coordinator (Travel and Management Software), can assist the Visiting Scholar with these arrangements. However, the individual who has applied for the funds is responsible for the following:

  • Airport pickup and departure
  • All public presentations including reserving a room and a/v equipment
  • Scheduling meetings with faculty/graduate students
  • Composing, distributing posters, and any other publicity material
  • Sending a copy of the aforementioned flyers to skripp@wisc.edu
  • Ideally, the public activities will be submitted to the UW Event Calendar. When doing so, please add LACIS and international as tags.
  • If a Facebook event is created, please invite LACIS as a co-host.
  • And, if necessary, providing translators (the Visiting Scholar and Artist fund does not cover the costs of translation).

The Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program will include public events by Nave Visiting Scholar/Artists in its weekly announcement via the “Noticias de la Semana” and also share over our social media channels.

Publicity must acknowledge support from the Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program and the Nave Fund. Please refer to the presenter as “Nave Visiting Scholar XX”.

Within one week of the visit, the initiating faculty should submit a follow-up evaluation of the event.

After your event has taken place, please complete THIS online follow-up evaluation. We submit your comments and results to the Nave Foundation. 

Disbursement of Funds

LACIS will distribute the funds in a lump sum to the account of your choosing OR pay the Nave Visiting Scholar his/her honorarium directly. If flights and hotel are part of the approved grant application, LACIS can cover these expenses directly through the TEMS system.

APPLY HERE:

Nave Visiting Scholar and Artist Application

  • Please note that we will utilize the presenter's email address in order to send him/her a survey through our Travel and Management Software System (TEMS). Through this portal, he/she can securely send confidential information needed to process his/her honorarium payment.
  • If unknown when submitting application please just enter "TBA".
  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • Please include name and phone numbers
  • Please give specific information, including leacture titles, dates and room locations if available.
    At times, we will videotape presentations. These videos will be uploaded to the LACIS YouTube Channel and may appear on local access cable programming.
  • Be sure to identify the course, and to indicate whether the speaker will visit or establish contacts in any way.
  • If so, describe the events, date, attendance and public or intellectual impact.
  • Outreach and Organizing Plans:

    LACIS will include this event in the Noticias de la Semana and add to our online calendar on our website. If the speaker will participate in our weekly lecture series, we will also add their talk to our Facebook event listings and feature on our website's homepage.
  • Budget Sharing

  • Due to the high volume of requests for Visiting Scholar funds, preference is given to applicants who have applied for or received funding from other sources. Please provide detailed, categorized (honorarium, travel, lodging, etc.) information about all additional sources of funding. In the event that complementary funds have not been sought, please explain why.
  • Budget for Funds Sought:

    Because of heavy demand for Visiting Scholar and Artist funds, applications with another source of funding will receive preference.
  • For more information about current State reimbursement rates, please visit: https://businessservices.wisc.edu/documents/3017-2-determining-lodging-maximums-procedure/
  • Documents

  • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 2 MB.
    If time permits, please submit a short (1-2 paragraph) abstract summarizing this visit. Files must be less than 2 MB. Allowed file types: pdf doc docx.
  • Drop files here or
    Accepted file types: gif, jpg, png, pdf, doc, docs, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, movmp3, wav, Max. file size: 2 MB.
      Please attach any additional support documents you wish here. Files must be less than 2 MB. Allowed file types: gif jpg png pdf doc docx ppt pptx xls xlsx mov mp3 wav.
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Follow up Evaluation: Nave Visiting Scholar and Artist Grant Program

    If you applied for, and received funding through our Nave Visiting Scholar Program, please complete this evaluation/feedback form within two weeks of the event. Thank you in advance!

    Grant Follow-up Evaluation Form

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Other Faculty Grants

    Special Symposia, Conferences 

    These are major, one-time events related to research in or about Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain or Portugal, whose initiators may apply to the Nave Committee, as well as other relevant university bequest committees, for financial support. The typical conference/workshop grant ranges from $1000 to $3000. The committee strongly encourages applicants to seek additional funding from other sources in order to strengthen their request. Click here for guidelines.

    Nave Faculty Publication Supplement

    The Nave Faculty Publication Supplement is designed to provide a modest subvention for completed manuscripts by faculty working in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, or Portugal. Click here for guidelines.

    Grants for Travel to Professional Meetings These grants are intended to promote faculty participation in professional meetings and to advance professional exchange and the dissemination of Latin American, Caribbean, [gravityform id=nd Iberian Studies research. PLEASE NOTE: Priority will be given to first time applicants or those who have not received funding for a year or more. Updated 1/16/25: LACIS has expended all of its Faculty Travel Grant funds for the 2024-2025 academic year. We will begin accepting applications for the 2025-2026 fiscal year August 1, 2025.

    APPLY HERE (FOR TRAVEL AFTER JULY 1, 2025)

    Tinker Visiting Professorship

    The Tinker-Nave Committee, chaired by Dean Frances Vavrus, meets in the Fall semester to consider Tinker Visiting Professor nominations. Tinker professors are highly distinguished scholars who are citizens of Latin America, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, or Canada. Should a candidate be a Canadian, he or she must specialize in Latin America or the Caribbean. Distinguished public officials, artists, and musicians are also eligible.

    The Tinker-Nave Committee, which meets in November, considers the applications, which are then presented to the Tinker-Nave Foundation for approval. Tinker professors are required to teach or co-teach one course during the semester of residence and to present a public lecture. The program is an excellent means to relieve curriculum gaps, complement departmental strengths, and establish informal collaborations among faculty and students. The stipend level is $46,000 per semester plus fringe benefits.

    Nominations must include the following:

    • A nomination letter explaining the candidate’s qualifications, the proposed course to be taught or co-taught, and the benefit of the visit to the University and to LACIS faculty and students;
    • Evidence of departmental approval;
    • A detailed curriculum vitae for the candidate;
    • A statement from the proposed professor describing her/his research interests and teaching style; and,
    • Letters of support from both inside and outside the host department.

    SUBMIT NOMINATION:

    Tinker Visiting Professorship Nomination Application

    • Please include name and phone numbers
    • Required Documents:

    • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 2 MB.
      This can be a letter from your Department Chair.
    • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 2 MB.
      This nomination letter should explain the candidates qualifications, the proposed course to be taught or co-taught, and the benefit of the visit to the University and to LACIS faculty and students.
    • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 2 MB.
      A statement from the proposed professor describing their research interests and teaching style.
    • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 2 MB.
    • Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, Max. file size: 2 MB.
      Please submit multiple letters of support -- they should come from inside and outside of the host department.
    • Drop files here or
      Accepted file types: gif, jpg, png, pdf, doc, docs, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, movmp3, wav, Max. file size: 2 MB.
        Please attach any additional support documents you wish here. Files must be less than 2 MB. Allowed file types: gif jpg png pdf doc docx ppt pptx xls xlsx mov mp3 wav.
      • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

      To facilitate the planning of the Tinker Professorship, it is highly recommended that departments plan ahead with sufficient time. Sponsoring faculty should contact LACIS Director, Sara McKinnon or Associate Director, Alberto Vargas, advising them of their intentions to submit a nomination.

      Those wishing to host a visitor for a period shorter than a semester should discuss the idea with LACIS staff, for it may be possible to do so within applicable University regulations.

      LACIS encourages submissions in October for the following academic year (i.e., 12 months or 18 months in advance). Nomination materials must be submitted no later than the last Friday in October for consideration by the Tinker-Nave Committee. If you need further information, please do not hesitate to call the office at 608-262-2811.

      * Please note that it is the responsibility of the nominating department to payroll the approved Tinker Professor, start procedures for visa processing, provide office space, and assist in finding housing for the professor. Furthermore, the initiating department must also heavily publicize the professor’s course to ensure adequate enrollment. LACIS will pay for the airfare and provide the Tinker Professor with $1,200 in flexible funds which will be distributed by the home department.

      External Funding