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Office of Academic Affairs
Office of Faculty Affairs

Emeritus Academy grant program

Call for Grants

The Emeritus Academy promotes the ongoing engagement of the Emeritus Faculty in activities that enhance the University’s reputation. With support from the Office of Academic Affairs, it awards small one-year grants of up to $2,500 that advance the Academy’s mission. The number of grants awarded is limited by the total availability of funds.

The grants are designed to support:

  • Research
  • Scholarship
  • Creative activity

Qualifications for Grants


Applicants must be members of the Emeritus Academy at The Ohio State University. There are two grant competitions each year. Members are eligible to receive a grant only once per academic year. A final report is required within 90 days of the end of the grant period.

Grant Period

There are two grant periods, each lasting one year. They begin on Dec. 1 and June 1. Funds will be disbursed to departmental fiscal officers for management. Only expenses incurred during the grant period are eligible. All unused funds will revert to the Emeritus Academy at the end of the grant period. In the case of travel to conferences or other events, members may apply more than a year in advance; the grant period in this case is the year including the travel.

Grant Application Requirements

To receive a grant, applicants must follow University rules, including fulfilling the following requirements:

  • For travel requests, airline reservations must be made through the Travel Office as required by the Travel Initiative enacted August 1, 2018. For details of how to request a booking, see the Travel Office FAQ page. Personally purchased airfares cannot be reimbursed by the Academy grant program.
  • “Workday” is the newly implemented Ohio State software for management of purchases, personnel, travel, etc. Please consult your department or appropriate academic unit prior to writing your proposal, in order to understand what Workday requires in order to conduct research or creative activities for an Emeritus Academy grant.
  • Projects that involve human subjects must adhere to the Ohio State requirement for Collaborative Institute Training Initiative (CITI). Training must have been completed within the past three years and must be compliant with all the appropriate human subject research protocols. To update the training, go to the CITI Program training page.
  • Projects that involve research must adhere to the Ohio State requirement for RCR (Responsible Conduct of Research) training. To complete the training, go to the CITI Program training page.

The Grant Application

Application Criteria

The following items are allowable under the terms of the Grant Program:

  • Research-related travel and receipted expenses (e.g., fieldwork for a research project)
  • Presentation of research at an academic conference
  • Research or administrative assistance specific to your personal research (limited to not more than 50% of the request
  • Reproduction of documents and data processing costs
  • Research services
  • Payment to human subjects
  • Purchase of relevant materials, software, small equipment, creative instruments and supplies

Due to limited resources, this program cannot provide annual funding to support continuing projects. While repeat proposals from Academy members are allowed, should the program be over-subscribed, preference is given to first time applicants.

The following items are specifically excluded under the terms of the Grant:

  • Faculty member's salary
  • Travel from an out-of-state residence to Ohio State
  • Reimbursement for funds already spent
  • Blanket support for student stipends and student research at either the undergraduate or graduate level
  • Grants for travel may cover transportation and hotel but not per diem

Application Process

The application must be completed online (link will be available at the bottom of this webpage when the grant period is open). It must contain:

  • E-mail address
  • Name
  • Home department or school; regional campus if applicable
  • Amount of funding requested
  • Title of project/grant
  • Dates of activity
  • A description of the proposed activity (not to exceed 750 words), to be evaluated by colleagues who do not necessarily have expertise in your discipline
  • An itemized list of all expenditures with sufficient detail so that the appropriateness of each expenditure can be evaluated (see description above for allowed expenses)
  • If relevant, other sources of financial support for this activity and whether these are definite commitments or applications you have submitted
  • A one page vita and other supporting materials. Any cited publications, presentations, or other activities should be limited to no more than the most relevant five items. Acceptable file types: .xisx, .xis, .jpg, .png, .pptx, .pdf, .doc, .docx.
  • A list of any previous Emeritus Academy small grant awards.
  • The entire proposal, including the CV and references, must not exceed 10 pages in length.

Application Review

All applications will be evaluated by the Emeritus Academy Steering Committee, using the following criteria:

  • Reasonableness of the proposed activities to the overall project and its impact
  • Feasibility of the proposed activities including timeline and budget
  • Timeframe appropriate to the upcoming grant period (except in the case of travel to events, as stated above)
  • Demonstrable benefit to The Ohio State University
  • Availability of funds

Benefit to the university might take a variety of forms, such as:

  • A pilot program, designed to form the basis of a proposal for external funding
  • A lecture on campus
  • Collaboration with active faculty
  • Identification of the awardee as a professor emeritus or academy professor at The Ohio State University on a publication or conference program

Funds will be awarded only for approved expenses, as noted above.

Continued Commitment and Expectations

Acceptance of the grant represents a commitment to abide by its rules and to prepare a brief final report evaluating the impact of the grant on the recipient’s work. The report, due ninety days after the end of the grant period, should indicate what was achieved as a result of receiving the grant, including any publications, products, or presentations that resulted or other grants obtained. Reports are used by the Academy to account for fund use during audits and to support requests for continued funding of the grant program. Awardees may also be invited to speak at an Emeritus Academy meeting.

Timeframe

The fall deadline this year for grant applications will be Nov. 6, 2026 with funding announcements made by mid-December.

The spring deadline for grant applications will be May 5, 2027 with funding announcements made by early June. Awards depend on the availability of funds, typically more limited in spring than in fall. The spring competition exists mainly to cover opportunities that present themselves too late for consideration in autumn.

Grant application period is closed and will re-open October 2026