Recipients of the 2014 Middle East Studies research grant will be announced Wednesday at the annual Middle East Studies Night in the ASU Fowler Center.
This year, eight research grants have been awarded to faculty, staff and students interested in studying in the Middle East.
Middle East Studies Night will honor those recipients and invite members of the community to learn more about the involvement and significance of the Middle East Studies program.
During the evening, some of the past recipients of the award will share their experiences, research and findings, according to Middle East Studies Committee (MESC) Chair Bill Roe of the College of Business.
The event is open to anyone that has an interest in the Middle East region, said MESC member Gil Fowler of the College of Media and Communication.
“We see this as an opportunity to promote the actions we are involved in,” Roe said.
The MESC grant commission provides overseas research funding for A-State students and faculty through interest from a $850,000 endowment fund established in the 1980s.
The grant can typically finance 4-7 research trips to the Middle East each year, though the number of awards given and the amount of money awarded can vary from year to year.
“This year we had a very strong pool (of applicants),” Fowler said. “We had more quality applicants than we had money for.”
A-State students and faculty can apply for financial research aid through the grant. In the past, research trips to the Middle East have studied communication in mass media, native languages and art culture among other topics.
In recent years, the grant has been expanded to finance more than individual study trips and include group study trips as well.
The MESC supports trips to 10-15 different Middle Eastern counties, Fowler said. According to the MESC website, the grant does not finance research excursions to countries considered dangerous or hostile to the United States.
The significance or applicability of the study or research being presenting a finance request from the grant is highly important.
“We didn’t see it as being just vacation money,” Fowler said. “We wanted a product of value to be associated with that.”
The committee has awarded eight research grants this year, according to Roe.
“Anyone on campus, faculty, staff or students, can submit a proposition to receive funds,” Roe said.
