Resident Scholar Application

Application Information for Academic Year 2025-26

In 2025-26 the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics will host one University of Oregon faculty member as a Resident Scholar. Resident Scholars receive an award of $15,000 that can be used in numerous ways, depending on the desires of recipients and their department or school. The Resident Scholars program is designed to enrich the intellectual and scholarly environment of the Wayne Morse Center and to advance research by UO faculty that enlightens public understanding about issues and problems confronting society. This program places special emphasis on supporting the completion of well-developed projects, including book manuscripts, scholarly journal articles, and other publications, or other outputs. Plans for communicating findings to a broad audience are preferred.

Priorities and Criteria for Selection

The Wayne Morse Center welcomes Resident Scholar applications from faculty of any academic discipline at UO. As part of a center founded with a focus on law and politics, this program supports research by UO faculty that addresses significant and enduring problems in public affairs affecting Oregon, the nation, and/or the world. 

Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria: 

  • Promise and significance of the research contribution
  • Quality of the proposal
  • Evidence of research progress with clear plans for publication or other outputs
  • Record of the applicants
  • Well-defined plan to communicate findings to a broad audience

Eligibility and Stipend

The Resident Scholar program is open to tenured and tenure-track faculty at the UO. Faculty must be employed by the UO during the year of the scholarship. Faculty members on sabbatical leave may also be eligible to apply, but they must be in Oregon and interact with the Wayne Morse Center during the fellowship year.

The Resident Scholar will receive a $15,000 award, which is for fiscal year 2025-26 (July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026) and cannot be carried over into subsequent years. Because the funding derives from gifts, the Wayne Morse Center is restricted from transferring the stipend to another campus unit. Instead, a new index is created on the Wayne Morse Center's fund from which the Resident Scholar's department / ASU will process expenses related to the scholarly work detailed in the faculty member's Resident Scholar application.

Duties and Conditions

  • Resident Scholars will undertake research or other professional activities such as completing research and writing for publication and/or related activities under the auspices of the Wayne Morse Center.
  • Resident Scholars will participate in the intellectual life of the Wayne Morse Center, including attendance and participation in some (or all) of our public events, series, and educational programs.
  • Resident Scholars may make a presentation of their scholarly work in the form of a public lecture or seminar, or may participate in a public event related to their research. For instance, authors of new or forthcoming books may be asked to make a presentation as part of the center’s Bookmarks series.
  • Resident Scholars will represent the Wayne Morse Center at university and public events as appropriate and feasible.
  • Resident Scholars will acknowledge the Wayne Morse Center in all publications and events related to the research and activity supported by the center. They also will provide the center with a copy of research publications or other outputs related to their year of support.
  • During public presentations and in relevant email correspondence, we appreciate awardees identifying themselves as Wayne Morse Resident Scholars.

Application Process

Applications must be written in language accessible to readers from several disciplines and must include the following:

  • Abstract (not to exceed 100 words)
  • A project description (not to exceed 1500 words), including the following elements:
    • Conception and definition of the project: An explanation of the core research ideas, problems or questions being addressed in the project, and the form of the project (such as book, scholarly article, or other output).
    • Significance of the project: Importance of the research for addressing issues or problems confronting Oregon, the nation, and/or the world. Situate the scholarly contribution you plan to make within the larger scholarly literature (including references or bibliography).
    • Plan of work and expected results: Be as precise as possible about the plan of work and your research and writing objectives during a proposed year as Resident Scholar. Describe your anticipated progress toward specific research outputs, such as a book manuscript, journal article, or similar result. Well-developed projects are strongly encouraged, and promise of future publication such as book contracts, favorable journal R&Rs, or related evidence of progress is a plus.   
    • Dissemination of Findings: Describe a strategy for communicating your findings to a broad audience.
  • A two-page summary of the curriculum vitae

Application Deadline
Applications are due by Friday, April 4 by 8 p.m. Awards will be announced by the end of May 2025, if not sooner. 

Apply now

Please direct questions to Daniel Tichenor, Wayne Morse Center Co-Director, tichenor@uoregon.edu.