Eligibility

Students are eligible to apply to the Learn, Lead, and Serve Program through a selective process. Applicants must arrange to work with a faculty mentor in the College of Arts and Sciences. The faculty mentor must notify the chairperson/program director about the student they wish to mentor. The chairperson/program director sends nominations to the Dean's office.

Candidates must be matriculated undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students enrolled in the professional schools will be considered if their faculty mentor is in the College of Arts and Sciences and their proposed project clearly involves the College faculty member's discipline. Students must have completed at least one year of academic study (30 semester hours). Graduate students are not eligible. Only projects independent of undergraduate thesis work are suitable for funding under the program. Projects that follow graduation may be considered under special circumstances. Projects may be pursued for academic credit, but this is not a requirement for an award.

In making application, candidates must demonstrate the relationship of their projects to a commitment to learning, a desire to explore the act or idea of leadership, and an understanding of the civic responsibility of service to the community. Applications must state the specific outcomes in each of the three areas of learning, leadership, and service that the proposal aims to attain. Applications should be prepared with care, concentrating on the quality of the research, leadership, and service components of the project and the relationship among them.

Finally, students are eligible to apply to the Learn, Lead, and Serve Program with projects that they will conduct while enrolled in foreign study programs or other programs and immersion experiences that are independent of and/or supplementary to their degree programs. However, in these instances, students must provide (1) a complete description of the program with which they will be affiliated, and (2) a detailed statement of how their Learn, Lead, and Serve project is independent of and in addition to the stipulated activities of a given program and the timeline for the completion of the project in relation to the demands of the program of study or immersion.

Learn, Lead, and Serve proposals that will be carried out in an international setting will automatically be considered for the College of Arts and Sciences’ International Learn, Lead, and Serve Award. This award is endowed in honor of Steven C. Buck, Class of 2003, and is granted annually. The award provides additional funding for the winner’s project and also receives public recognition on campus and in the commencement program.

Faculty Mentors

Faculty mentors are central to the success of this initiative. Students are expected to work closely with their faculty mentor in designing and carrying out their projects. Faculty mentors are expected to make a substantial time commitment to the students whose projects they support. Faculty members are paid a small stipend in recognition of this work. Only one stipend will be paid in any academic year.

Nomination Process

After arranging to work with a faculty mentor, student applicants should complete the nomination form and send it to their department chairperson. The chairperson must submit the nomination electronically to learnleadserve@udayton.edu by the deadline stated on the nomination form.

Application Process

The application process is competitive. Typically, awards are between $1,000 and $2,500 per student or student groups depending on the project proposed. Applications are evaluated by a faculty committee composed of the endowed chairs in humanities (Dr. Patricia Johnson), arts (Prof. Sean Wilkinson), social sciences (Dr. Jack Bauer), natural sciences (Dr. Peter Powers), and the Center for Leadership in Community (Bro. Raymond L. Fitz).

Learn, Lead, and Serve Awards that can be received as non-taxable income are treated as travel advances with budgets required. Students must submit budgets documenting their anticipated expenditures. All expenses must be verified as legitimate expenses. Upon completion of their work and return to campus, students will need to submit all original receipts to the Bursar's office along with their travel advance form obtained from the Dean's Office, College of Arts and Sciences.

Applications

Applications must be submitted electronically to learnleadserve@udayton.edu and must include:

1. A Learn, Lead, and Serve Program Cover Sheet. (The cover sheet is to be signed by the student(s) applying for the award, the faculty mentor, and the chairperson or program director from whose area the project originates. For purposes of electronic submission, an unsigned copy may be submitted with a signed paper copy sent to the Office of the Dean.)
2. An application letter from the student(s)-maximum two-page, single-spaced - that clearly outlines the project and addresses the specific outcomes that the project aims to promote in each of the areas of learning, leadership, and service. The letter should also state how the results of the project will be formally prepared and/or presented. Students whose projects would depend upon use of a foreign language for their success should indicate their level of proficiency in the language or describe their plans to study the language during the project.
3. A letter of recommendation from the faculty mentor in which he/she states a commitment to serving as the mentor for the project and discusses the merits of the project, the connection of its educational objectives with leadership and service, and the ability of the student(s) to conduct the project and complete it successfully with some form of formal preparation and/or presentation of research findings. This letter should explain the faculty member's role in supervising the project. The student is responsible for securing the letter from the faculty mentor and including it with the application items. Should a faculty member prefer to send the letter separately, this is permissible and should be noted in the student's application
4. A schedule for the project.
5. A budget for the project that makes clear how the award will be used. If other sources of funding are being sought, this must include information about these sources and the amount sought. Note that funding for equipment will only be approved if the equipment is integral to the project and would not normally be purchased by the department or individual.
6. In determining the budget please be aware of the following:
   1. UD recognizes travel as driving/flying to a different state, which would include an overnight stay.
   2. Staying on campus/in Dayton for the summer, traveling in and around Dayton or traveling throughout Ohio is not recognized as a travel expense. Grant money awarded for these expenses is considered taxable income.
   3. Students who receive travel advances are required to submit a detailed, itemized listing of expenses, with original receipts (including a boarding pass if applicable) attached, shortly after returning from the trip. Please note that all expenses will be reviewed by Internal Audit. Any undocumented or inappropriate expenses will be considered taxable income and reported to the student and the IRS accordingly.
   4. Most LLS grant funds spent on supplies are considered taxable income.

Application Checklist

A complete application includes the following documents which must be submitted electronically as Word attachments. Applications will be considered incomplete and not eligible to be reviewed by the committee if all of the items below are not included. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your application within two business days. If you do not receive an email confirmation, it is the student’s responsibility to follow up and confirm that their application was received.

1. Cover Sheet signed by the student, faculty mentor and Chairperson/Program Director.
2. Application letter from the student.
3. A letter of recommendation from the faculty mentor.
4. A schedule for the project.
5. A budget for the project.

Final Report

Applicants whose projects receive funding will be required to submit a final report to the Dean’s Office when their project has been completed. The report should be a one page summary restating the original goals and clearly describing what was learned from the experience. Please indicate how the LLS award helped make this experience possible. Faculty mentors will also be required to submit a report on the students' work.

Important Dates

Nominations and applications must be received by the dates listed below. There are no exceptions.

Fall 2011

    Monday, September 12: Faculty nominations are due.
    Wednesday, October 12: Completed applications are due.
    November 2011: Award recipients and faculty mentors are notified.

Spring 2012

    Tuesday, February 7: Faculty Nominations are due.
    Wednesday, March 7: Completed applications are due.
    April 2012: Award recipients and faculty mentors are notified.

Quality applications may be entertained at other times if special consideration is merited.

Application Submission

Send all parts of the application electronically to learnleadserve@udayton.edu

Signed copies of the Cover Sheet may be sent to:

Learn, Lead, and Serve Program
O'Reilly Hall
Campus Zip: +0800