Eastern Connecticut State University undergraduate students who need funding to complete a research or creative project, or to present their work at a conference or exhibition, are eligible to apply for this competitive scholarship. Successful applicants may receive up to $500 to support their project.

The Jean Thoresen ECSU-AAUP Scholarship is named after the late Jean H. Thoresen, a devoted member of the AAUP, a tireless worker for AAUP ideals, a former ECSU-AAUP chapter president and a professor of sociology.

Application Deadline

Note that applications that are incomplete or submitted after the deadline may not be accepted.

Applications for Fall 2025 projects must be submitted no later than 12:00 PM (noon) on Monday, September 15, 2025.

Applications for Spring 2026 projects must be submitted no later than 12:00 PM (noon) on Monday, February 9, 2026. If funding is needed prior to March 1, utilize the Fall deadline.

Application Components (Student Applicant)

Applicants must work with their faculty mentor for guidance on preparing their materials prior to submission.

Applicants must use the Thoresen Scholarship Application form to provide information about themselves and their project, including whether any other sources of funding have been requested or received. Within the same document, they must provide (1) a project narrative, (2) an itemized budget, and (3) a resumé or CV. Details on what must be included in each of these three components is below.

Once all three components are finalized within the ONE Word document file, the applicant must save or export the file as a PDF document for submission. Please name the file with the applicant’s name in the format of Last-First-Application.pdf.

Project Narrative

The narrative is limited to four (4) pages (12-point font, double-spaced, 0.7-inch margins or greater) and must include four components:

1. A clear set of goals/objectives for the project

2. An appropriate and feasible methodology or plan for project completion, including a timeline

3. A planned project outcome (publication, presentation, performance, or exhibition)

   1. If funds are requested to present the project, the narrative should describe the format (e.g., which journal, which conference, which venue) and provide an explanation of how that experience will benefit the student

4. Evidence that the project is well-focused and worthy within the field of study (typically including a brief review of disciplinary work necessary to understand how the project contributes to the field)

This narrative must be written for a non-disciplinary audience.

Itemized Budget and Justification

The itemized budget needs to provide information on what the requested funds will pay for:

• If the applicant is requesting funding to purchase items, they will need to include a full list of items by name, with vendor, unit cost per item, total cost (including tax, if applicable), and any shipping/delivery fees (if applicable). Screenshots or weblinks are required in this budget document
• If the applicant is requesting funding to pay participants or pay for recruitment (e.g., Amazon MTurk), they will need to provide their anticipated number of participants, and the cost per participant
• If the applicant is requesting funding to travel, they must include a list of each expense, which could include but not be limited to hotel (screenshot of rate or reservation), mileage (screenshot of route on Google maps, allowable expense per mile is currently $0.70), train/taxi (screenshot of rates), food at GSA rates (see allowable limits for the travel destination in the M&IE section here), registration (screenshot of rates or receipt), or other relevant expenses

Applicants are strongly encouraged to work with their faculty mentor to identify whether materials or funding may be provided by the department or other sources before submitting their application.

Resumé or Curriculum Vita (CV)

The resumé or CV should summarize the applicant’s experiences in 1 – 2 pages. If the applicant does not already have a prepared resumé or CV, below is a list of potential topics to include if applicable:

1. Contact information (name, email address)
2. Education (high school and college; graduation dates, major/minor)
3. Relevant courses or academic experiences
4. Research or creative experiences, including publications, presentations, exhibitions, etc.
5. Work experience and/or extracurricular activities (sports, clubs)
6. Accomplishments, awards, and scholarships
7. Skills

Application Components (Faculty Mentor)

The faculty mentor must prepare a recommendation letter that addresses the feasibility of the project as proposed by the student. The deadline for the recommendation letter is the same as for the student application. Please save the file as a PDF and name it with the student applicant’s name in the format of Last-First-Recommendation.pdf.

Submitting the Application

The student applicant will submit the ONE PDF file containing their application by emailing the document to ECSU-AAUP Office Manager Christine Guarnieri at guarnieric@easternct.edu and cc-ing both the ECSU-AAUP President Lyndsey Lanagan-Leitzel at lanaganleitzell@easternct.edu and the ECSU-AAUP Treasurer Carolyn Coates at coatesc@easternct.edu. The faculty mentor will separately email their ONE PDF file with their recommendation letter to Christine (cc-ing Lyndsey and Carolyn) as well. Make sure both documents are submitted prior to the semester deadline or the application may not be considered.

The Review Process

The ECSU-AAUP Executive Committee will review all submissions and determine which projects will be funded. This process generally takes about three weeks after the submission deadline. Applicants will be notified promptly whether their projects will be funded or not.

Funded Projects

If a project is funded, the student must submit a final report with itemized expenditures (with receipts) and a summary of the outcomes of the project (less than 650 words). If a cash advance had been requested but there were unspent funds, these must be returned. Funding for participant payment or recruitment will require that the mentor monitor data collection and direct their student to return any unspent funds. The final report will be signed by the student and delivered to the ECSU-AAUP office (Science 452). Successful submissions (with applicant information removed) may be shared as a model for future applicants.

Questions

Any questions about Thoresen scholarship funds can be directed to the ECSU-AAUP Treasurer Carolyn Coates (coatesc@easternct.edu). Other questions about the scholarship, including the submission and review process, can be directed to the ECSU-AAUP President Lyndsey Lanagan-Leitzel (lanaganleitzell@easternct.edu) or the ECSU-AAUP Office Manager Christine Guarnieri (guarnieric@easternct.edu).