VERITAS Award

Purpose

The Veritas Research Grant Program advances Villanova University's Catholic and Augustinian mission by supporting faculty research and scholarship that addresses one or more of following themes:

a. Religious values broadly understood, including but not limited to work on inter and intra religious dialogue, the intersection of faith and reason, and contemporary praxis.

b. The Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT), or inquiries that address “the way of doing things that is the outcome of centuries of experience, prayer, and critical reflection” [Monika Hellwig (2000; 3).

c. Catholic Social Thought, understood as work in or across any discipline that incorporates and addresses the principles of Catholic social teaching: human dignity, solidarity, common good, and/or subsidiarity.

d. Dialogue between religious faith and contemporary life, understood as work that, consistent with Augustinian heritage, attends to the concrete ways faith and reason are connected in contemporary life.

Among the examples of research projects that might find support would be issues of war and peace; issues of social justice; empirical investigations of the influence of religion on social, political, or economic behavior, or vice versa; the interaction between religion, science, and technology; government, business, or other private and public sector practices and policies that affect, or could be affected by, religious faith and practice; and the application of Catholic Social Thought to contemporary public policy issues. These examples are meant only to be suggestive of the types of inquiries that can be pursued; others surely may be possible.

The program is administered jointly by the Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship (VIRS) and the Office of Mission and Ministry. Questions about topical appropriateness are welcome and can be directed to Father Kevin DePrinzio, O.S.A., Vice President for Mission and Ministry. For questions about the program guidelines, application process, budget, etc., please contact VIRS (virsgrants@villanova.edu).

Eligibility

All tenured, tenure-track, and continuing non-tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. Post-doctoral fellows employed on nine-month contracts are also eligible to apply. Individuals may receive VERITAS Awards no more frequently than every three years.

Award Amounts and Restrictions

The maximum award amount is $12,500. Allowable expenses include summer salary (up to 1/9 of the faculty member’s academic year salary, capped at $12,500), non-salary monies for research expenses, or a combination of summer salary and non-salary monies not to exceed $12,500. 

Summer salary is to be paid in June or July of the summer award period and is subject to any limitations that may pertain as outlined in the University’s Compensation Policy. It is expected that recipients of a VERITAS Grant will spend an amount of time working on the proposed research that is equivalent to the amount of summer salary received (e.g., one month or portion thereof).

Collaborative proposals between two faculty members are permitted. For such proposals, each faculty member may request up to a month of summer salary (subject to the caps indicated above).

Non-salary funds may be used for equipment, supplies and books, travel, publication costs. Funds may also be used to pay students on an hourly wage basis to assist the faculty member in the execution of the project. However, funds may not be used to provide summer stipends for graduate or undergraduate students to work on their own thesis/dissertation research. Non-salary funds may be spent over the entire fiscal year. Other expenses may be allowable and should be discussed with the VIRS Director for interpretation.

Funds may not be used to support travel to disseminate work at conferences. The VERITAS Grant Program does not provide support for course development or textbook preparation.

Application

The application package includes several parts: a cover page and either 4 or 5 substantive components, as detailed below. Page margins must be at least one inch. Text must be 11 point or larger, with the exception of figures. Page limits are indicated per component.

All Veritas application materials are to be submitted through Villanova’s InfoReady Portal.

1. Application cover page

Online form (link posted early spring semester annually)

The cover page form will appear when you click ‘apply’ on InfoReady. It will request descriptive information about your project such as title and abstract, your information and related details, budget request, IRB/IACUC status and other summary information.

2. Proposal Narrative

Limit: four pages (not including references)

The proposal narrative should enable reviewers to judge the merits of the project using the Proposal Evaluation and Review Criteria outlined below in these guidelines. Your narrative should include the components itemized below. You may combine, divide, and order the components as you wish as long as your narrative is clearly organized and substantively captures the components sketched below. Your proposal may not exceed four pages (this does not include references).

Purpose and Objectives: What problem(s), question(s) motivate the proposed research? What are the aims of your research? (E.g., I will develop an account of…, I will identify themes in…, I will measure the effect of…, etc.)

Background/Context: How have your questions been answered before by others? What are the limitations of past research? Why, and for whom or what, is it important to overcome these limitations? How will your proposed research extend or go beyond other work on this issue?

Significance and Outcomes: What do you expect the intellectual contributions, implications, and/or impact of your proposed work to be for its field of study and/or practice? What scholarly or creative outputs will result from the VERITAS Award? (e.g., scholarly publications, conference papers, preliminary research or proof of concept for external funding proposals, etc.).

Approach/Method: How will the research be carried out? What theoretical approach, model, perspective, or conceptual framework informs your study? How is your study designed? What methods or techniques will you use to answer your questions?

NB: In crafting the narrative, please keep in mind that your proposal will be reviewed by a faculty panel with members who may not be familiar with your specific areas of study. Therefore, it is important that technical terminology be kept to a minimum and that the project be described in a manner that can be readily appreciated by non-specialists.

3. References

Limit: no page llimit

4. Timeline

Limit: one page

How long it will take to achieve the objectives, answer the questions. Provide a timeline for completion of the proposed work activities in simple, readable form such as a short paragraph or simple diagram.

5. CV

Limit: up to two pages per individual

Provide an abbreviated CV not to exceed two pages. Highlight especially any activities and publications relevant to the proposed project. For collaborative projects, each individual may submit up to two pages.

6. Budget (if non-salary monies are requested)

Limit: one page

If non-salary monies are requested provide a one-page budget, specifying a budget total. Detail and the proposed expenditure of funds in as much specificity as possible and provide the amounts requested each expenditure. Provide a brief justification for the allocation of the funds.

Proposal Development Support

Applicants are invited to contact the VIRS Director for advice on proposal preparation (e.g., guidance on project alignment with program guidelines, proposal organization and structure, etc.).

Proposal Evaluation and Review Criteria

Each proposal will be reviewed by an Evaluation Committee composed of Villanova representatives from Mission and Ministry, the Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship, and the University’s Faculty. Evaluation criteria are as follows (the last four of which have been adopted from the American Council of Learned Societies):

• Relevance to Villanova University’s Catholic and Augustinian heritage and values as indicated by the project’s substantive pertinence to at least one of the four themes identified in the Purpose section of these guidelines (above).
• The potential of the project to advance the field of study in which it is proposed and make an original and significant contribution to knowledge.
• The quality of the proposal with regard to its clarity, methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.
• The feasibility of the project and the likelihood that the applicant will execute the work within the proposed timeframe.
• The scholarly record and appointment type of the applicant. Meritorious proposals by tenure track applicants are given first priority.

Critical Dates

• 2025 Proposal submission deadline: March 7
• 2025 Award announcements: Late April 

Post-Award requirements

After receiving an award, and in order to be eligible for future awards, the recipient will be required to submit a brief report (no more than one page) that includes the significant outcome resulting from the VERITAS Grants in relation to the anticipated significant outcome as stated in the initial proposal. Reports are due on May 31 following the summer for which the VERITAS Grant was made. Instructions about how to submit reports will be provided to awardees at least two months in advance of their due date.

Questions?

Questions about proposal preparation or review can be addressed to Janice Bially Mattern, PhD, Director, Villanova Institute for Research and Scholarship. You also may contact any member of the Evaluation Committee for advice about proposal preparation.

Members of the Evaluation Committee

• Janice Bially Mattern, PhD, Director, Villanova Institute for Research & Scholarship
• Peter Busch, PhD, Professor, Augustine Culture and Seminar Program
• Kevin DePrinzio, OSA, PhD. Vice President, Office for Mission & Ministry
• Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD, Asst. Vice President, Office for Mission Engagement & Strategic Initiatives