Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

A. Description

The Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere (CHPS) will sponsor workshops and speaker series during 2026-27 with support from the Margaret and Robert Rothman Endowment and the Yulee Fund. CHPS solicits proposals from faculty, curators, and graduate students who wish to organize one or multiple events, especially collaborative ones, in an academic year. The events must be accessible to an audience coming from a variety of disciplines and members of the public. CHPS expects to fund awards of up to $5,000 each. Partial funding of proposals may be awarded to support more initiatives.

B. Eligibility

Salaried faculty (including lecturers but excluding adjunct and courtesy faculty), curators, and graduate students are eligible to apply as lead applicants and may collaborate with others as part of a team. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible to apply if their fellowship extends through the period of the proposed event. Applicants may be funded for two years in a row. CHPS uses a definition of the humanities adapted from the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 as the basis for determining the eligibility of proposed projects.

C. Activities

Events must be scheduled between May 1, 2026, and May 30, 2027. Funds may be used to bring external speakers to Gainesville (for travel, per diem, and honoraria) or to commission performances, films, or exhibitions. UF employees may participate but cannot receive honoraria. Funds may be used for food, entertainment expenses, event filming, venue rental, or publicity. Every event must have one component fully open to the public. We encourage graduate student applicants to consult with their faculty mentors and/or office manager to make a suitable proposal and budget. Grant funds may be combined with co-sponsorship from other sources to underwrite larger events or honoraria. The budget should outline additional sources and whether applicants have already secured such funding. It should also explain how the organizers would adjust to shortfalls. All research, projects or other activities funded by this program must be consistent with state and federal law, including Fla. Stat. 1004.06 and BOG Regulation 9.016 regarding DEI programing, and and BOG Regulation 9.012 regarding foreign activities.

D. Deliverables

Event organizers are required to share final publicity details of the funded events as soon as possible, but no later than two weeks before each event. To remain eligible for future funding from CHPS, within one month following the event organizers must submit a final report with a budget of expenditures, numbers of audience members, and a description of the activities.

APPLICATION

Please provide the following information in the submission portal: https://forms.humanities.ufl.edu/speaker-workshop-grants/

1. Applicant Information:
   • Name
   • Department/School
   • College
   • Rank
   • Email
   • Name and Email of Chair or Director
   • If applicable, Name of Co-applicant(s), UF Department/Schools and Colleges, Ranks, and Emails
   • Project Title
   • Amount Requested
   • Abstract (max. 100 words, written for a general audience)
2. Attach and upload
   1. NARRATIVE (max. 1,000 words), including:
      1. Detailed rationale of the event(s) and significance for the humanities
      2. Proposed date(s)
      3. A description and explanation of the format of the event(s), and how the event(s) will engage discussion in the humanities
      4. Short biographies and rationales for invited speakers, including whether preliminary contact has been made with potential speakers
      5. Description of projected audience, including any committed local and off-campus participants
   2. BUDGET, including other confirmed or possible sources of funding for events whose budgets exceed $5,000. A budget form is provided for your use. Please see the additional questions below the budget form.

   EVALUATION CRITERIA

   The CHPS advisory board will review all applications with the following criteria:

   • The significance of the event(s) for the humanities
   • The extent to which the event(s) are likely to support humanistic discussion
   • The feasibility of the event(s)
   • The potential of the event(s) to reach diverse audiences in and beyond the humanities

   If proposals are of equal quality based on the criteria outlined above, a proposal by an applicant or a group of applicants who have not received funding previously in this category of grant will be given priority over an applicant or an applicant group with a proposal funded in the last five years.

   PROPOSAL ASSISTANCE

   Applicants are advised to write in clear, intelligible prose for the Center’s advisory board, which is comprised of faculty members from across the humanities. We invite applicants to write to the CHPS Director Jaime Ahlberg (jlahlberg@ufl.edu) in advance with queries about the fellowship, proposal writing, or to review a draft proposal. All drafts must be submitted at least one week prior to the grant deadline.

   Download the PDF Guidelines Apply Now