February 2010 • Anthropology News

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C A R E E R D E V E L O P M E N T February 2010 • Anthropology News

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C A R E E R D E V E L O P M E N T

Cultural Anthropology Grows at NSFDeborah Winslow National Science Foundation

It is time for me to say, “Thank you.” Almost three years ago, in March 2007, I wrote a letter to Anthropology News noting I was puzzled by the fact that although the AAA has over 10,000 members and our annual meetings regularly draw 5,000 participants, barely 80 PhD-holding (“senior”) anthropologists sought research support from the NSF Cultural Anthropology Program each year. This unimpressive annual figure included not only regular proposals sent to the fall and spring review panels, but even smaller proposals for “high risk” research and supplements! I wrote:

Anthropologists have supported the program gener-ously as reviewers and panelists; but as researchers, our record is not as good as it needs to be to both represent the depth and breadth of what cultural anthropology contributes to the human sciences and to gain the kind of national recognition many other sciences now enjoy. Simply put, the Cultural Anthropology Program needs to receive more proposals for research grants.

Happily, that dire situation appears to be on its way out the door. In August 2009 alone, the program received 74 senior proposals for consideration by the fall Senior Advisory Panel. Four years earlier, in August 2005, there were only 33. If this curve continues its pretty upward slope, the current fiscal year will see twice as many senior proposals submitted to the program as in 2007. Rises in disserta-tion proposals foretell an even richer future: from 60 in fall 2005 to 137 in fall 2009. Should history hold and this number double in the spring, as has been the norm, the program may receive over 400 dissertation proposals in the 2010 fiscal year. Today’s students will be tomorrow’s senior researchers, so there is every reason to think that the program will continue to grow.

I believe firmly that anthropologists are needed to solve the world’s most urgent prob-lems, but we must do basic, gritty and time-consuming research to get the recognition that will accord us voice. Increasingly, you are asking NSF for support as you step up to do just that— so, thanks!

Additional Resources?From these increases in proposal numbers follows an all too-obvious question: do more proposals mean lower success rates? The blunt answer is that this year, for the first time, success rates may indeed fall, but the odds are still quite good. For the past four years, we have been able to support about 25% of both senior and dissertation proposals. It is too early to be certain, but I would not be surprised if this year’s success rates are in the range of 15–20%. Even more impor-tant, co-review and co-funding with other NSF programs allow us to stretch our limited dollars to support more projects (see this column, AN December 2009). Incidentally, even these lower numbers give you better odds at NSF than at some other funders, such as the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the Social Science Research Council, where success rates have tended to be around 10%.

Although NSF has not yet doubled the Cultural Anthropology Program budget, and is unlikely to do so in the foreseeable future, there has been an important devel-opment that indicates recognition of our

recent growth and long-term support for a larger program. The Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Division, of which we are a part, has been authorized for the first time to hire a second CA program officer. This new posi-tion is for a “rotator”: a temporary program officer who takes leave from a university or other position to come to NSF for one to three years. About half of all NSF program officers are rotators, as I was when I began at NSF in 2005. Many think that the ideal staffing for each program is one permanent program officer for continuity and program building, plus one or more rotators to bring in regular infusions of new ideas. By summer 2010, the CA program should be in that happy state. I am looking forward to working with (and sharing the workload with!) the new Cultural Anthropology rotator, whoever he or she turns out to be. In the meantime, keep those proposals coming in!

Do you have a question about NSF? Feel free to contact NSF column editor Deborah Winslow at dwinslow@nsf.gov or 703/292-7315.

G A T E W AY T O N S F

Funding HighlightsThis column includes a brief selection of support oppor-tunities from the AAA website. This month we feature fellowships for PhD students, post-doctoral scholars and applied anthropologists. For a more complete searchable listing, visit www.aaanet.org/bulletinboard. The bulletin board also lists awards and prizes, col-laboration opportunities, field schools and internships, meeting announcements, calls for papers and more. If you are seeking participants for a program or event, use the “submit announcement” option to post your information.

Practicing and Applied Visiting Fellows ProgramThe Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology Programs (COPAA) Visiting Fellows Program provides an opportunity for applied and practicing anthropologists to share their skills and knowledge in partnership with anthropology departments. The goal of the program is to sponsor visits by either practi-tioners or applied faculty to COPAA member departments in order to educate students and faculty on topics that build on, enhance or supplement the department’s existing curric-ulum. The structure and length of the visit should be determined by the needs of (1) the specific academic program, (2) the expertise of the faculty and (3) the skills and knowl-edge of the practitioner/applied visiting fellow. See www.copaa.info/resources_for_programs. Deadline: February 15, 2010.

United Nations University FellowshipsThe United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) is now accepting applications for its three fellowship programs: UNU-IAS PhD Fellowships, UNU-IAS Postdoctoral Fellowships, and JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowships. UNU-IAS is a multi-thematic, interdisciplinary, research and training center in Yokohama, Japan. UNU-IAS PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships are offered for 10 months and JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowships are offered for 12–24 months begin-ning in September 2010. Candidates’ current research must be closely related to one of the thematic areas of the institute. See www.ias.unu.edu/fellowships or contact fellowships@ias.unu.edu. Deadline: February 28, 2010.

American Institute of Indian Studies FellowshipsThe American Institute of Indian Studies announces its 2010 research fellowship compe-tition and invites applications from scholars who wish to conduct their research in India. Junior fellowships are awarded to PhD candi-dates to conduct research for their disserta-tions in India for up to eleven months. Senior fellowships are awarded to scholars who hold a PhD, for up to nine months of research in India. See www.indiastudies.org. Deadline: July 1, 2010.