"Saint Mary’s always encourages us to think outside-the-box."
Collaborative Study and Research (COSTAR) Grant
The Collaborative Study and Research (COSTAR) program supports scholarly, creative and pedagogical partnerships for teams of two Saint Mary’s faculty. These projects may include traditional collaborations, such as jointly conducting research; co-authoring a book or article; co-editing a collection; co-creating an artwork or performance; or developing a multi-section, team-taught or tandem course. Projects may also involve innovative interdisciplinary study and dialogue, such as an historian and a theologian reading and discussing one another’s work-in-progress on the same period or issue, or faculty from the same or different departments studying a problem or concept of mutual interest from different methodological or theoretical perspectives.
Application Guidelines • Past COSTAR Winners • Apply
Eligibility: All full-time faculty are eligible, as are part-time faculty who have taught for five semesters at Saint Mary's College. Faculty on terminal contracts are not eligible. Please direct all eligibility questions to the Center for Academic Innovation Director.
Time Commitment: Faculty are expected to commit to at least six weeks of collaboration during the summer.
Stipend: Each faculty member receives a taxable stipend of $2,500 disbursed in one payment.
Application: Applicants should fill out this form. In addition, they should jointly assemble a typed, double-spaced, four- to six-page proposal narrative that includes the following.
1. A description of each colleague's contribution to the project, written by the individual faculty member, and addressing the following questions:
a. What do you propose to do?
b. How did your project come about?
c. Why is it worth doing?
d. What do you expect to accomplish in your six-week collaboration period? If completing your project will take longer than six weeks, what is your plan and timetable for completion?
e. What other summer obligations do you have (for example, summer school teaching, other research or travel commitments, etc.), and how are they compatible with the demands of your proposed COSTAR work?
2. A collaboratively written description of how your proposed contributions complement each other, how you plan to work together, what you expect to gain by collaborating, and what your collaboration will produce (for example, a book, conference paper, tandem course, etc.).
3. In addition to the four- to six-page application outlined above, please attach a brief curriculum vitae for each applicant, emphasizing his/her preparation for the work proposed.
4. Applicants should also arrange for at least one letter of recommendation from a person professionally qualified to address the significance of their project and their ability to carry it out.
The proposal narrative, as well as any supporting documents, are to be emailed as attachments to cfai@saintmarys.edu.
Please note that if the application proposes research involving human subjects or laboratory animals, the applicants must contact the chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for research involving human participants, or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for research involving animals. A Request for Protocol Approval must be submitted to the appropriate committee. When the protocol is approved, the applicant will receive a letter from the chair of the IRB or IACUC to forward to the CFAI Grants Committee. The grant award is contingent upon this approval.
2014
Insook Chung, Education, and Mary Ann Traxler, Education, "Collaborating to Write Teaching Math with Children's Literature: Kindergarten through 2nd Grade, a Mathematics Education Book for Teachers and Future Teachers"
Laura Elder, Global Studies and Intercultural Studies, and Ujvala Rajadhyaksha, Business and Economics, "How Do National Contexts Swing Women's 'Tight-rope Walk' of Work-life Balance? Developing a Teaching Case Study for Use in Business and Anthropology Classes"
2013
2012
2010
Susan Alexander, Sociology
Anita Houk, Religious Studies
Single in the Church: Theological and Gender-Studies Approaches to Single Adults' Congregational Practice and Spirituality
2009
Stacy Davis, Religious Studies
Edith Miguda, History
Biblical teachings in the Cultural Parameters - Gender issues in the Hebraic, English and Luo Biblical translations
2008
Frances Hwang, English
Leslie Wang, Sociology
Exploring Cultural Identities
Julie Long, Library
Mary Ann Traxler, Education
Multicultural Children's Literature in Revie
2007
Carolyne Call, Office for Civic and Social Engagement
Julie Storme, Modern Languages
Listening to Understand: Exploring Issues of Identity with Muslim American Women
Nancy Menk, Music
Laurel Thomas, Music
Singing Nuns: the Women’s Chorus as an Integral Dramatic Component in Ordo Virtutum and Suor Angelica
2006
Mana Derakhshani, Modern Languages
Jennifer Zachman, Modern Languages
Crossing the Pyrenees: Film Theory and Franco-Iberian Cinema
2005
Susan Alexander, Sociology
Astrid Henry, English and Women’s Studies
Feminism and Popular Culture
2003
Astrid Henry, English and Women’s Studies
Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies
Riding the Waves, or What We’ll Be Doing this Summer: Collaborative Research to Create an Interdisciplinary Upper-level Tandem (RLST 362 and WOST 390)
Frances Kominkiewicz, Anthropology and Social Work
Sue Wiegand, Library
The Use of Library Databases by Undergraduate Students
2002
Colleen Hoover, Department of Mathematics
Joanne Snow, Department of Mathematics
Marston Morse: The Man, the Mathematician, the Humanist
Julie Long, Library
Mary Connolly, Department of Mathematics
Research and Resources in a Networked Environment
2001
Mark Abram-Copenhaver, Department of Communication, Dance and Theatre
Renée Kingcaid, Department of Modern Languages
Producing Molière's The Learned Ladies
Ella Sue Harmeyer, Department of Nursing
Jayne E. Kendle, Department of Nursing
Assessing the Respite Needs of Families With Children with Special Needs Living in Elkhart and Saint Joseph Counties
Catherine M. Pittman, Department of Psychology
Nancy Turner, Department of Education
College Students with Learning-Related Difficulties: Providing Resources to Faculty and Students
2000
Ann Loux, Department of English
Becky Stoddart, Department of Psychology
Story Station w.o.r.l.d.
1999
JoAnn Burke, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department
Jan Pilarski, Justice Education
Faith and Spirituality in Social Work Practice
Susan Alexander, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department
Karen Chambers, Psychology Department
Studying Youth Culture: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methodologies
1998
Toni Barstis, Chemistry/Physics Department
Joanne Snow, Mathematics Department
Interactive Mathematics and Physical Chemistry
Thomas Bonnell, English Department
Katherine Sullivan, Communication, Dance and Theatre Department
John Dryden's Secret Love
Ann Clark, Philosophy Department
Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies Department
Feminist Theory in Practice: Reading, Writing and Transforming Knowledge
1997
Kevin McDonnell, Philosophy Department
Elizabeth Newman, Religious Studies Department
Closer to Home--Christian Identity and Higher Education, Part 2
Rebecca Stoddart, Psychology Department
Jill Vihtelic, Business Administration and Economics
Predicting Women Professors' Job Satisfaction: Does Parental Career Guidance Facilitate Women's Entry into Non-traditional Fields?
1996
Sister Elena Malits, Religious Studies Department
Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies Department
Teaching Teachers for the 21st Century--A Collaborative Approach to Religious Education
Jeffrey Breese, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Department
Bonnie Dunwoody, Education Department
Examining the Mission Statements of Women's Colleges, (or) 'This is your mission and if you choose to accept it...'
Patrick Pierce, Political Science Department
Donald Miller, Mathematics Department
Statistical Models of Gambling Revenue Politics
Don Balka, Mathematics Department
Nancy Turner, Education Department
Development of Teacher Resource Material in Mathematics For Use With Students With Disabilities
1995
Zae Munn, Music Department
Deborah Norin-Kuehn, Music Department
A Performer/Composer Collaboration: The Creation and Performance of a Concert Work for Young Audiences
1994
Kevin McDonnell, Philosophy Department
Elizabeth Newman, Religious Studies
Christian Identity and Higher Education (deferred until summer of 1995)
Donald Miller, Mathematics Department
Patrick Pierce, Political Science Department
Politics of State Lotteries: A Structural Equations Approach to Understanding Their Causes and Effects
Jerry McElroy, Business Administration and Economics Department
Jack Ruhe, Business Administration and Economics Department
Spirituality for Women in the Work World