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INCLUSION & DIVERSITY scholarship

First awarded in 2016, the New England Archivists Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship is given annually to the presenters of one session during the Spring Meeting. The session must be dedicated to issues of inclusion, diversity, and social justice within the profession.

The session will be chosen from the proposals submitted to the Spring Meeting Program Committee; there is no separate application process. The presenters of the session will be eligible for a total of up to $1200 in reimbursement for registration, travel, and hotel expenses.

Initially approved as a three-year pilot program for 2016, 2017, and 2018, this scholarship was made an official NEA scholarship with the objectives of encouraging professional engagement with issues of inclusion, diversity, and social justice.

How to Apply

Applicant Eligibility
Any session proposal submitted by NEA members in good standing to the Spring Meeting Program Committee is eligible for this award. First-time presenters and new and student members are strongly encouraged to apply.

Recipients may receive only one scholarship per award cycle.

Recipients may not be awarded a scholarship in more than one consecutive award cycle; therefore, recipients from the previous award cycle are not eligible.

Members of the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship Committee are not eligible for the award during the application cycle in which they serve.

Application Submission

The sponsored session will be chosen from among the proposals submitted for the NEA Spring Meeting in response to the general call for proposals. Although there is no separate application process for this award, presenters must indicate in their submissions that they wish to be considered for this award.

Application Review and Recipient Selection

After the session proposal deadline, the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship Committee will work with the Spring Meeting Program Committee to review all of the proposals that have been submitted for scholarship consideration. Proposals not selected for the scholarship will still be eligible for inclusion on the general Spring Meeting program and will be evaluated with all other proposals by the Spring Meeting Program Committee.

Recipients of this award will be selected for submitting a proposal which draws an explicit connection between the session content and/or archival work, collections, or processes and the issues of inclusion, diversity, and social (in)justice. The connection does not have to be self-evident, but it must be clearly articulated in both the proposal and the presentation itself.

Session proposals will be evaluated on how distinctive (relative to past award winners) and compelling the presentation topic is and the coherence of the proposal. Proposals should be specific, well-organized, and persuasive.

A simple majority vote of the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship Committee will determine the recipients. Votes are submitted by the Scholarship Committee members privately to the Scholarship Committee Chair, who compiles them and provides the Scholarship Committee with the results.

If the Committee does not select a recipient from the applicants, or in the absence of applications, the scholarship will not be awarded for that year.

Proposals are considered for the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship independently from applications submitted by the same applicant(s) to other NEA awards during the same award cycle.

Distribution of Scholarship Funds
The NEA Treasurer will send reimbursement checks to the award recipient(s) after all relevant receipts have been submitted. The total will not exceed $1200. The deadline for receipt submission is two weeks after the close of the Spring Meeting.


Previous Recipients

  • 2024 - Session: “Collecting LGBTQ+ History: Three Rhode Island Community-Based Projects ” presented by
    Kate Wells (she/her/hers), Providence Public Library
    Mev Miller (she/her/hers), Wanderground Lesbian Archive/Library

    Virgina Thomas (she/her/hers), Providence College
    Angela DiVeglia, moderator (she/her/hers), Rhode Island School of Design


  • 2023 - Session: “Archiving the Archive” presented by
    Sarah Schelde (she/her), Mary Eddy Baker Library
    Mik Hamilton (she/they), Simmons University

    Esme Rabin (she/her), Peabody Essex Museum
    Deborah Rich (she/her), Sandwich Public Library


  • 2021 -Session: “Making Metadata Inclusive to Marginalized Peoples” presented by
    Raananah Sarid-Segal, GBH Media Library and Archives
    Miranda Villesvik, GBH Media Library and Archives
    Rebecca Fraimow, GBH Media Library and Archives
    Leah Weisse, GBH Media Library and Archives

  • 2020 - Session: “Preservation and Elevation: Archiving the Interfaith Sanctuary Movement” presented by
    Jordan Cozby, Yale University
    Christina Pao, Yale University

    Michael Brenes, Yale University
    Rabbi Emeritus Herbert Brockman, Congregation Mishkan Israel


  • 2019 - Session: “Co-archiving: Collaborative Archiving of Diverse Student Groups presented by
    Jessika Georgeanne Drmacich, Williams College

    Cecilia Pou Jove, Williams College


  • 2018 - Session: "Enhancing Underrepresented Collections and Reaching New Users" presented by:
    Annalisa Moretti, Archives Assistant, John J. Burns Library, Boston College (Chair)
    Stephanie Hall, Archives Assistant, John J. Burns Library, Boston College
    Lynn Moulton, Processing Archivist, John J. Burns Library, Boston College
    Meghan Bailey, Processing Archivist, John P. Healey Library, UMass Boston
    Amita Kiley, Collections Manager & Research Coordinator, Lawrence History Center


  • 2017 - Session:  "Archivists, Non-Archivists, and the Deaf Catholic Archive" presented by:
    Keith Ludden, Director, Oral History and Folklife Research, Inc. (chair)
    Rev. Joseph Bruce, S.J., College of the Holy Cross
    Lisa Villa, Digital Scholarship Librarian, College of the Holy Cross


  • 2016 - Session: "Boston Public Schools Desegregation: From Digital Library to Classroom" presented by:
    Giordana Mecagni, Head of Special Collections and University Archivist, Northeastern University
    Patricia Reeve, Associate Professor of History, Suffolk University
    Marilyn Morgan, Archives Program Director, University of Massachusetts Boston
    Josue Sakata, Assistant Director of Implementation, History and Social Studies, Boston Public Schools
    Andrew Elder, Digital Archives and Outreach Librarian, University of Massachusetts Boston
    Julia Collins Howington, University Archivist and Moakley Institute Director, Suffolk University

Procedures

Inclusion and Diversity Session and Travel Assistance Award Committee
Session proposals are reviewed and recipients are chosen by the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship Committee, whose membership is approved by the Executive Board annually prior to the start of the application period. The Committee is made up of:

  • one (1) Inclusion and Diversity Committee member (serves as Scholarship Committee Chair)
  • one (1) member of the Spring Meeting Program Committee (nominated by the Spring Meeting Program Committee Chair)
  • one (1) NEA member in good standing (selected by the Scholarship Committee Chair)

In selecting the members of the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship Committee, the Scholarship Committee Chair should strive to create a committee that is diverse and inclusive, reflecting a range of tenure in the profession and in NEA, as well as of geography, gender, and professional

Committee Files
Inclusion and Diversity Session and Travel Scholarship Committee files are stored on NEA’s content management system and managed in accordance with the NEA Record Schedule.

Timeline

  • In conjunction with the Spring Meeting call for proposals, a reminder about the Inclusion and Diversity Scholarship will be highlighted by the Communications Committee.
  • At the request of Inclusion and Diversity Committee, Communications Committee solicits volunteers from NEA membership to serve on the Scholarship Committee.
  • Once decided, Scholarship Committee Chair submits final Committee membership to Membership Secretary to verify member standing.
  • Upon verification of member standing by Membership Secretary, Scholarship Committee Chair submits final Committee membership to Board for approval.
  • In accordance with Spring Meeting Program Committee deadlines for proposal selection, Scholarship Committee Chair notifies Program Committee Chair and award recipients of decision and seeks permission of award recipients to acknowledge them publicly in print and at the Award Ceremony at the Spring Meeting.
  • Acknowledgment of scholarship will be included in the Spring Meeting program, and a brief announcement will be made at the start of the session.
  • At the Award Ceremony at the Spring Meeting, Scholarship Committee Chair acknowledges recipients.
  • No later than two weeks after the close of the Spring Meeting, recipients submit receipts totaling no more than $1200 to the Scholarship Committee Chair and NEA Treasurer for reimbursement. The NEA Treasurer will process reimbursement requests and mail checks to recipients in a timely manner.


Questions? Feedback? Contact the Inclusion and Diversity Coordinator at diversity@newenglandarchivists.org.

 

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