New Auburn University grant programs to support campus diversity, equity, inclusion goals

Beginning this fall, the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, or OID, will offer four grant programs to support individuals, groups and units working to promote Auburn University’s inclusion and diversity efforts.

Open to all members of the campus community; the competitive grants include the Inclusive Excellence Programming Grant, now in its second year, and three new grant opportunities: (1) the Employee Diversity Engagement Grant; (2) the Advancing Diversity Graduate Student Support Fund; and (3) the Office of Inclusion and Diversity Exploratory Research Grant.

“With these funding opportunities, OID is expanding its campus partners to advance our institution’s strategic goals and recognize the talents and energy of those across campus committed to our shared mission,” said Taffye Benson Clayton, associate provost and vice president for inclusion and diversity. “The most meaningful progress comes when we can support the members of our campus community by investing in their ideas.”

All four grants will support different subgroups at Auburn as they work to achieve strategic inclusion and diversity goals.

Inclusive Excellence Programming Grant

The Inclusive Excellence Programming Grant aids programs by funding new and innovative ways to support campus diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Last year, the program contributed more than $18,000 across nine impactful initiatives that assisted underrepresented students throughout Auburn’s campus. The first cycle of the Inclusive Excellence Programming Grant will open on Sept. 19 and provides similar opportunities.

Employee Diversity Engagement Grant

The Employee Diversity Engagement Grant is specifically designed to support the professional development of Auburn faculty and staff to advance their knowledge, skills and awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion. This program will support external professional development to enhance the depth and quality of learning experiences related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The Employee Diversity Engagement Grant will open in January 2023.

Advancing Diversity Graduate Student Support Fund

The Advancing Diversity Graduate Student Support Fund funds programs that support graduate students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to achieve their career goals and foster diversity education in their respective fields. The Advancing Diversity Graduate Student Support Fund will open on Sept. 19.

Office of Inclusion and Diversity Exploratory Research Grant

The Office of Inclusion and Diversity Exploratory Research Grant provides funding to support Auburn faculty members with their research and creative activities. These efforts address complex societal issues, such as justice and inclusion, for broader communities within their field, discipline or society. The grant funds will support the development of competitive proposals for external funding. Those interested in the Exploratory Research Grant should consider attending an interest session at 1 p.m. on Sept. 29 in Room 202 of the Academic Classroom and Laboratory Complex, or ACLC. The session will feature staff from OID and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. The Exploratory Grant Program will open on Sept. 22 via InfoReady. OID plans to fund at least 10 projects between $3,000 and $10,000. The request for proposals can be found at this link.

Members of the campus community interested in applying for any of the other three grants should consider attending an interest session on Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. in Room 2107 of the Melton Student Center. A registration link is available here.

Please visit the OID website to learn more about these programs and their application processes. OID can be contacted at diversity@auburn.edu.