The David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Project
This Project provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 thanks to the generosity of Lynn Shostack, in memory of her husband, David A. Gardner '69.
The goal to the project is to foster those intellectual "nooks and crannies" of the University that might not otherwise find support, "jewels" and "pockets of excellence" that are essential but may not be supported by other donors. The Magic Project thus operates as a sort of venture capital fund, helping to foster promising programs and creative ideas. In this sense, "Magic" is a metaphor for the capacity of the Project to make unexpected, imaginative and expansive thinking possible, within the context of supporting solid educational purposes.
Princeton faculty members in all disciplines are encouraged to submit proposals for special projects that break new ground, intellectually and pedagogically.
The range of fundable proposals is broad and can include curricular enrichment; class trips; guest speakers; collaborative engagement with practitioners outside the academy; purchase of new equipment or scholarly materials; and special events. Grants are intended to reflect one or more facets of the Project’s mission:
- to allow faculty to undertake projects that might not be possible without the resources of the Gardner fund;
- to expose students to educational riches that might not otherwise be visible or available to them because of class size restrictions, budgetary limits, or other obstacles;
- to enlarge the curriculum in ways that encourage both faculty and students to adopt new modes of thought that transcend traditional academic boundaries.
One-page proposals are submitted to the Humanities Council. There will be three rounds of awards for 2010-2011. Deadlines are October 26, December 18, and March 26. Proposals of 1-3 pages, with a budget, should be sent to Carol Rigolot in the Humanities Council. Faculty with questions are welcome to call or email, 8-4719, crigolot@princeton.edu.
This sample of past grants suggests the broad range of possibilities:
Near Eastern Studies
One-week seminars on Islamic numismatics and Iranian philology for graduate students at Princeton and neighboring universities
Medieval Studies
One-week seminars on paleography for graduate seminars
Interdisciplinary conference on Medieval Philosophy
Anthropology
Publication grant for the Princeton Report on Knowledge (P-ROK)
French and Italian
Conference on Luigi Pirandello
Productions in French of Dom Juan and L'Illusion Comique
Student theater workshop in Paris
Chemistry
Course for non-science majors on The Chemistry of Magic
Firestone Library
Purchase of manuscripts and cataloguing of Ethiopic scrolls
Conversion of 1920s Pathé films to betacam
Religion
Edition of Cairo Genizah manuscripts
Slavic Languages
Three lectures on Magic in the Culture of Russia's Silver Age
Music
Materials and guest artist partnerships for the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk)
The Princeton Atelier
Production of Euripides' Alcestis
Theater and Dance
Reconstruction of a Diaghilev ballet
Production of Shakespeare's Winter Tale
Conference on Women in American Theater
Visual Arts
Purchase of films and DVDs
Forbes College
Construction of greenhouse for sustainability project
Princeton in Asia
Equipment and training for students going to Asia
Guidelines for summer course preparation grants
In the past, the Gardner Fund provided summer grants to faculty to prepare new courses related to the scholarly field of magic. As the Fund shifts its emphasis away from magic, the committee anticipates making fewer course preparation grants and, within those grants, specifically targeting courses that reach beyond a single department. The committee will consider proposals for courses that examine large questions and major texts across time and could appropriately be cross-listed with the Program in Humanistic Studies. Courses that are team-taught by faculty in different departments are especially encouraged. Priority is given to courses that can be repeated at Princeton, if they are successful.
