PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION
SECONDARY EDUCATION
RELIGION (GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION)
HEALTH CARE (CARING ATTITUDES)
PUBLIC TELEVISION

The following descriptions of program areas are intended to help potential grant seekers determine appropriateness of submitting proposals to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

Private Higher Education

The higher education program seeks to strengthen private four-year liberal arts institutions that place strong emphasis on teaching and whose students choose majors primarily in the humanities, science and math. Support generally will be reserved for schools of broadly acknowledged academic excellence in the liberal arts and a solid record of financial strength. A few grants are also made to larger teaching and research universities with a national reputation for excellence in graduate and undergraduate education.

The Foundations also have an interest in helping to improve programs at historically Black colleges, Native American tribal colleges, colleges in Appalachia and similar schools which provide opportunities for traditionally underserved students. Some grants are made competitively to such colleges each year.

Successful applicants in higher education should have a recognized position of leadership in the liberal arts with emphasis on the humanities and science/math majors, rather than career or vocational studies; adequate financial resources; and a record of outstanding support from trustees and alumni/ae. Joint proposals from two or more colleges sharing a program or facilities are also of interest. Grants normally range from $100,000 to $200,000 and should represent the President's highest priority for reinforcing institutional excellence. Therefore, proposals should be signed by the president of the institution.

Proposals from teaching and research universities should reflect the undergraduate priority of the president. Preference will be given to projects with potential to influence undergraduate education beyond the university.

Evaluation of competing requests is focused on the overall quality of requesting institutions. Therefore, except for larger teaching and research universities, no preference exists for any particular category or type of project for which grants are requested.

Proposals generally will not be considered from institutions in presidential transition. A president should be in office for at least one year prior to submitting a grant request.

Because of intense competition in this program and our limited resources, institutions receiving grants should wait at least four years from notification of an award before reapplying for another grant in private higher education.

Colleges and universities with innovative programs for strengthening teaching and teachers in grades 9-12 should refer to the description of the Secondary Education program. The higher and secondary education programs are independent and grant requests from institutions of higher education may be submitted in both programs at the same time.

Secondary Education

The majority of grants will be made to innovative professional development programs that strengthen teachers and their teaching in grades 9-12.

Special consideration will be given to projects in their early stages that address the concerns and problems of secondary education on a national level. Therefore, proposals should strive to develop solutions with potential for wide application or replication. Evaluation is often an important component. Requests to support well-established programs should be for initiatives that have the potential for significantly improving the program. Proposals should indicate other sources of support for the project including contributions of the requesting institution. Proposals that result only in local betterment will not be competitive.

In considering proposals to support high school teaching, the Foundations encourage sustained partnerships between the faculties of colleges (e.g., arts and sciences and education) and school districts or collaborative efforts involving reform organizations, colleges/universities and high schools. Proposals may cover a wide range of initiatives intended to improve teaching. For example, projects might be designed to improve professional development for in-service and pre-service teachers, strengthen faculty/teaching skills, support practical research in teacher and high school education, or encourage innovative use of technology and new techniques for presentation of classroom materials in high schools.

Proposals under this program will be accepted from institutions endeavoring to improve secondary education and must be signed by the head of the institution or organization. Institutions eligible for funding in this program area include, but are not limited to, public as well as private universities and colleges, graduate schools of education and free-standing educational research institutes. Only in exceptional cases will proposals be accepted directly from individual private or public schools or school districts.

Receipt of a grant under the secondary education program by a private college or university does not affect its chances of receiving a separate grant in the higher education program category. Grants made in this program area will range from $100,000 to $150,000.

Religion (Graduate Theological Education)

The Foundations' principal commitment in the field of religion is to graduate theological education. All grants to institutions of graduate theological education will be to schools or seminaries that are fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and which primarily produce persons prepared for ordination to pastoral or pulpit ministry. All denominations are eligible.

As in our program for higher education, our evaluation of competing requests is focused on the overall quality of the applying institution. No preference exists for any particular category or type of project for which grants are requested. However, proposals should be signed by the President or Dean and should represent the leader's highest priority for reinforcing institutional excellence.

Proposals normally will not be considered from institutions in leadership transition. The head of a seminary or divinity school should be in office for at least one year prior to submitting a grant request. Because of intense competition in this program and our limited resources, those who receive grants should wait at least four years from the time of notification of an award before reapplying for a grant.

The Trustees' goal is to make good institutions even better. Proposals from recognized consortia representing several seminaries will also be considered. Similarly, joint proposals from two or more seminaries sharing programs or facilities are also of interest.

Support generally will go to seminaries or divinity schools known for academic excellence. These institutions should have a solid record of continued alumni/trustee support and financial stability. Grants in the program area of religion normally range from $100,000 to $200,000.

Health Care (Caring Attitudes)

This program supports efforts to encourage caring attitudes in the delivery of patient care. Projects should have potential for widespread practical application and should be of interest to other groups. New ideas are encouraged, especially if they facilitate communication between patients (and their families) and doctors, nurses and other caregivers; ameliorate patient anxieties; strengthen trust and cooperation; and foster caring attitudes.

Such proposals might involve new and different educational or research efforts to identify the interpersonal skills necessary for sensitive yet effective clinical care. Other proposals might offer new ways to encourage respect and compassion for patients. Other possibilities might be new educational methods and research into the interrelationship between physical healing and psychological support. Activities that comfort patients and families dealing with serious illnesses are also of interest. These include programs supporting accredited clinical pastoral education and professional hospital chaplaincies and those which strengthen the hospice movement nationally.

The above list is merely illustrative. All new ideas addressing our Trustees' stated interests will be reviewed carefully. To be competitive, however, proposed projects must have potential for wide application and not merely the local improvement of requesting institutions or their communities. Contributions of the requesting institution along with other sources of support for the project should be identified. In addition, proposals should be submitted by the head of the institution under whose auspices the project would be accomplished. Recent grants under this program range from $100,000 to $200,000.

Public Television

The Foundations are interested in public television as an educational medium. Grants primarily provide partial support for major educational series assured of national airing by PBS. Consideration will also be given from time to time to single stand-alone programs of exceptional merit; however, Trustees prefer series with lasting educational value.

The contribution to students in grades K-12, higher and continuing education is a consideration in evaluating competing proposals. Children's series are of particular interest. Consideration also will be given to innovative uses of public television (including online efforts) to enhance educational outreach in schools and communities. Proposals for "capstone" grants which assure completion of production funding are preferred. Initial research and pre-production funding are seldom supported. Neither multi-year nor annual funding of continuing series are normally considered. Recent "capstone" production grants have ranged from $100,000 to $500,000.