The Harry S. Truman Library Institute for National and International Affairs is dedicated to the preservation, advancement and outreach activities of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.
This is one of our nation’s 13 presidential libraries overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration. Together with its public partner, the Truman Library Institute preserves the enduring legacy of America’s 33rd president to enrich the public’s understanding of history, the presidency, public policy and citizenship. The Truman Library Institute’s Research Grants Program was created to help fulfill President Truman’s wish that his library become “a center for the study of the presidency… the greatest executive office the world has ever known.”
Therefore, since 1957, the Truman Library Institute has offered $2.4 million to researchers in support of scholarship focused on President Truman and his world-altering decisions via our various awards, which include Research Grants, the Scholars Award and Dissertation Year
The Truman Library Institute adds to its existing Research Grants Program an exciting new project – the Truman-Kauffman Research Program. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Truman Library Institute has created a major new research initiative and public lecture series featuring senior scholars researching, presenting, and publishing on the role of foreign aid on development, modernization, and societal reconstruction, especially in the wake of war, colonialism, and rising globalization. Research projects incorporate the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, and/or the Point Four program, are especially encouraged.
The Truman Library Institute will award two Truman-Kauffman Research Fellowships in each of the next three years to senior scholars in support of ambitious archival-based research projects. Participating scholars will receive initial research/travel stipends to conduct research in the collections of the Truman Presidential Library. The initial grant will be followed by a major non-residential fellowship award allowing scholars to make significant progress on their research and resulting publication(s). Awardees will also be asked to present their findings through the project’s public component, which will include a combination of academic conferences and public lectures, generally in the Kansas City, Missouri area. (Military, foreign policy and other experts will also be invited to participate in the project’s public programs.) Each scholar will also be expected to produce a major book on his or her research, which will be published, contingent upon the standard peer-review process, by Cambridge University Press.
President Truman’s administration developed a number of foreign aid programs that entirely restructured the nation’s national security apparatus and policies. In particular, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and the Point Four Program all demonstrated a new kind of foreign policy – to help rebuild war torn regions through economic and/or technical assistance. The use of economic aid as a primary component of his foreign policies was key, as was the various aid programs’ delivery mechanisms. Truman and Secretary of State George C. Marshall’s shared belief in the importance of restoring economic growth to Europe (as well as Japan, Korea and other countries) embodied an engagement with development, reconstruction, and political governance that was a seismic break in traditional U.S. foreign policy.
Fellowship Details:
The Truman Library Institute will award up to two Truman-Kauffman Research Fellowships during each of the next three years – beginning in the spring of 2012.
Each Truman-Kauffman Research Fellowship carries a stipend totaling $37,500.
Format: 1) An initial research grant of $2,500 will be awarded in order to allow the scholar to travel to and conduct research at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. (These awards are to offset expenses incurred for this purpose only.) 2) A subsequent fellowship award of $35,000 will be provided to free a scholar from teaching or other employment for one-year in order to allow the scholar to make significant progress on the completion of a major book.
Applications for funding will be considered by the Truman Library Institute’s Research, Scholarship and Education Committee.
Eligibility:
Truman-Kauffman Research Fellowships are available to senior scholars who are employed in a tenured position at a degree-granting academic institution in the United States, remaining so for the duration of the fellowship. U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is not required. Applicants must have produced at least one book or a minimum of two articles in prominent, refereed journals. Finally, applicants with specific research and/or publication experience in the fields of international aid, development, economic recovery programs and expeditionary economics will be given preferential consideration.
Scholars are free to apply for Truman-Kauffman Research Fellowships as well as other standard forms of support including fellowships, grants, and/or or sabbatical salary. However, awardees may not accept a competing fellowship or major grant from another institution if the terms of the competing fellowship or grant include teaching responsibilities OR if the receipt of the competing funds in anyway compromises the specific research focus of the Truman-Kauffman Scholars Program.
Finally, applicants must agree to the meet the following expectations within a reasonable amount of time following the receipt of a Fellowship:
- Each scholar will also be expected to produce a major book on his or her research, which will be published, contingent upon the standard peer-review process, by Cambridge University Press.
- Awardees will also be asked to present their findings through the Truman-Kauffman Scholars Program’s public component, which may include a combination of academic conferences and public lectures. (The Truman Library Institute will cover the travel costs associated with a scholar’s appearance and will also provide a small honorarium.)
Application Process
Applicants should submit a proposal by December 1, 2012. This proposal should show evidence of significant preliminary work already completed on a project fitting the theoretical scope of the Truman-Kauffman Scholars Program and the plan of work necessary for its completion. A bibliography should also be submitted. The Committee will advise applicants in writing of the outcome of their preliminary screening no later than January 15, 2013. Applicants selected to continue in the second phase of the awarding process will be asked to submit by January 31, 2013:
Application timeline:
Completed applications are due December 1, 2012.
Applicants will be notified of the results of the preliminary screening by January 15, 2013.
Subsequently, finalists must submit supplementary information by January 31, 2013.
Notification of the Committee’s final decisions will be made in writing by February 15, 2013.
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