EIU Graduate School

Competitive Awards Program For Graduate Programs and Faculty

Graduate School Diversity Promotion Grant 

The Graduate School Diversity Promotion Grant supports diversity promotion activities within a graduate program. The Graduate School has received a gift of $1,000 to award during the 2024-2025 academic year. Diversity promotion activities could include, but are not limited to, a unique recruitment activity, a guest speaker who brings diverse perspectives to a graduate program, or professional development activities that enhance diversity within the program. Applications should include a one page summary of the proposed activity, including the requested amount of funding. A co-authored, single proposal should come from the graduate coordinator and department chair. Applications are due to the Graduate School by Friday, October 25, 2024 and may be sent to Myra Taylor via email (metaylor4@eiu.edu).

Hamand Fund for Innovation in Graduate Studies

Generously established by Dr. Carol Hamand-Stephens, daughter of the first dean of EIU’s Graduate School L. M. Hamand, and the Hamand family, the Hamand Fund for Innovation in Graduate Studies was created to strengthen Eastern Illinois University’s graduate education programming.

For the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year, $3,000 will be available to award through this fund. Nominations for this award, which may be used to bring new distinction and heightened recognition to your graduate program, can include innovative programming concepts or implementation of new strategies that will enhance the graduate program and graduate students’ experiences. 

Nomination proposals should establish how the funding will be used in the upcoming academic year to achieve the stated goals. Please direct all nominations to Myra Taylor (metaylor@eiu.edu) by 4:30 p.m., April 4, 2025.

Rodney S. Ranes Graduate Faculty Mentor Award

Purpose: The Ranes Mentor Award recognizes faculty who exemplify the highest ideals of the engaged faculty member. The award honors faculty whose mentoring serves as an example to the graduate community by combining a commitment to scholarship, professional, clinical or creative work with innovative and effective graduate teaching. Recipients of the Ranes Award contribute to their discipline through the development of their own scholarship or creative activity alongside that of their students. By maintaining active engagement within their field to bring graduate students into the discipline, exemplary graduate mentors leverage their own professional, disciplinary and academic networks to the advantage of new scholars, professionals and creative artists.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Active Participation in Disciplinary Organizations
   • This criterion includes evidence of membership and service in internationally, nationally, and state-recognized professional organizations. Evidence of achievement in this area includes participation in committees, governing boards, conference planning boards, task forces, caucuses, or service as elected officer for organizations recognized within the wider academic discipline or creative field.
2. Research and Creative Productivity
   • This criterion measures both the nominee's contributions to the field of which she or he is a member, but also the relative prestige of the academic or creative journals, conference presentations, poster presentations, exhibitions, or performances through which results of the research or creative activity are disseminated. For the purposes of this criterion, peer-reviewed journals are prioritized over non-peer-reviewed journals; juried exhibitions or performances are to be prioritized over non-juried exhibitions or performances; international and national academic conferences are to be prioritized over state and local conferences.
3. Student Research and Creative Productivity
   • This criterion measures contributions to the field achieved by the nominee's students. Evidence may include publications, conference, exhibitions or performances, prioritized in accordance with the guidelines for criterion No. 2.
4. Student Awards, Grants, Scholarships, Honors
   • This criterion measures scholarships, grants, awards, honors, or other forms of recognition of scholarly or creative excellence achieved by the nominee's graduate students. Such awards or honors are to be evaluated in terms relative prestige within the appropriate academic or creative field.
5. Teaching Shaped by Research Interests
   • This criterion measures the integration of the nominee's research, scholarly or creative achievements with their achievements as a teacher of graduate students. The statement of mentoring philosophy should demonstrate a commitment to such integration, and course syllabi should be supported by research or creative achievements as listed on the nominee's curriculum vita.

Nomination Process: Each nomination requires submission of a nomination letter from a graduate faculty member. A complete packet will include:

• The letter of nomination that addresses all five criteria and is limited to two pages.
• A one-page support letter from a faculty member.
• A one-page support letter from a fellow graduate faculty member familiar with the nominee.
• A one-page statement of mentoring philosophy from the nominee.
• A one-page summary of student projects and achievements over the past three to five years.
• A graduate course syllabus.
• A curriculum vita.

Complete Packets: Complete nomination packets are limited to six pages excluding the course syllabus and curriculum vita. Packets can be delivered or emailed to Myra Taylor, 1213 Blair Hall or emailed as a PDF to metaylor4@eiu.edu. 

Deadline: 4:30 p.m. February 21, 2025.

Number: One candidate will be selected from those nominated.

Selection: Award recipients are selected by the Council on Graduate Studies Ranes Review Board. The board will include seven members; five graduate faculty and two graduate students. The faculty representatives will include the Ranes Scholar from the previous year and one faculty representative from each of the four colleges appointed by the dean of The Graduate School. The two graduate students will be the current GSAC President and the Graduate School student dean. Members of the board on any given year cannot be nominees or write letters of support for the Ranes Award nominees.

Recognition: The Ranes Award recipient will be recognized during the Distinguished Graduate Students Awards Ceremony and may be invited to provide the keynote address on advancing graduate education at Eastern Illinois University during the Annual Meeting of the Council on Graduate Studies and Graduate Coordinators in the Fall.