Global Justice Program

 The Savage Endowment for International Relations and Peace (“Endowment”) was established to bring to the University of Oregon campus outstanding national and international experts (“visitors”) whose service on campus will enhance the educational offerings of the university in the fields of humanities and social sciences, focusing primarily on the international relations, peace, and the United Nations. This endowment is the funding source for UO’s Global Justice Program (GJP), which administers the following GJP Grant.Watercolor World Map

Request for Proposals: Regular Program and Special Conference Initiative on Active Response to Global Crisis

 Just as humanity is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are confronted with new challenges from the Russian war in Ukraine to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. These are on top of ongoing unrest and upheavals in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Sudan, Tigray, Venezuela and Myanmar to name a few. The US has also experienced social unrest and political violence with nationwide protests against racial injustice and brazen attempts to overturn a legitimate election.

With funding from the Savage Endowment for International Relations and Peace, the Global Justice Program offer regular calls for proposals, and  special conferences on research, education, and action in response to global crises.


Regular Program

We plan to provide funding for our regular Global Justice Program (GJP) to bring outstanding national and international experts to the University of Oregon campus, whose service on campus will enhance the educational offerings of the university in the fields of humanities and social sciences, focusing primarily on international relations, peace, and the United Nations (as specified in the gift agreement governing these funds).

For our regular programs, all UO faculty (tenure line and career) are eligible to apply, with approval of proposal from their department/unit head or dean). We encourage joint proposals involving multiple faculty including junior and senior faculty members from diverse units and collaboration with students.

Complete applications for our regular program should be received by January 31, 2024 (deadline extended). Total funding available for all regular programs will be $50,000.

Special Conference Initiative on Active Response to Global Crises

In addition to our regular program, we aim to create a series of special in-person conferences that address ongoing human-made international and regional crises and how members of our community can respond actively and productively to these phenomena. Depending on the applicants’ interest and expertise, conference themes can be regionally or analytically framed (for example, the war in Ukraine and challenges to European security; worldwide crisis of democracy; migrants and refugees between international law and human rights). In all cases, we look for connections between rich understanding of crises and practical pathways for students and other members of our community to respond productively to these crises.

Proposals should be aimed at bringing together scholars and practitioners to educate the UO community about the issues and to contribute actionable ideas for peace, social justice, and international collaboration. Proposals that involve a significant component of student participation or that partner with other Oregon higher education institutions such as Lane Community College or OSU are given a higher priority. We may also ask conference organizers across campus to combine their events to achieve greater impacts.

We are especially interested in conferences that go beyond academic analysis and deliberation to:

  1. Identify pathways for action, especially for students, to replace a sense of powerlessness in the face of major global crises with concrete steps that individuals on the UO campus can take to make a difference.
  2. Include UO fundraisers, and potential donors (when possible), who will participate in the conference and contribute ideas to raise funds to support pathways for action (UO Advancement will partner with conference organizers to bring in fundraisers, and potential donors when possible).

Complete applications for this special program should be received by January 31, 2024 (deadline extended).

Total funding available for all special initiative conferences will be $100,000.


Application Details

Eligible Use of Funds:

GJP grant funds may be used to cover costs related to visitors’ travel (airfare, lodging, per diem, etc.), lecturing, instructional programs, research, profession development, or other scholarly activities. Visitors may come for a short-term experience (e.g. for a public lecture), a major public event (e.g., conference) or a longer-term engagement (1-3 months). GJP Grant funds may also support academic programs or activities around such visits in a manner consistent with support of visitors, so long as these programs and activities help ensure that the visitors’ presence on campus enhances the educational offerings of the university in the field of international relations, peace, and the United Nations.

Eligible Applicants:

All UO tenure line and career faculty are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators on GJP proposals (support letters are required from PI department/unit heads). We encourage joint proposals involving multiple faculty including junior and senior faculty members from diverse units and collaboration with students.

Application Deadline:

For full consideration, complete applications for both the regular and special programs should be received by January 31, 2024 (deadline extended).

Off-Cycle Applications:

If funds remain, off-cycle applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis to support activities consistent with the GJP mission. Such awards typically do not exceed $2,500.


Application Requirements:

Proposals must be written in language accessible to readers from diverse disciplines. The complete application should include the following parts which will be entered into the website form linked below:

  1. Name and contact information of applicant(s).
  2. Department head or Dean name and contact information.
  3. Proposal Abstract (250 word maximum) Provide an abstract or summary of the proposal. Include how the visitors or activities will enhance the educational offerings of the university in the fields of international relations, peace, or the United Nations.
  4. Proposed project itinerary What is the proposed project itinerary (3 day conference, inviting 10 speakers, etc.)? Global Justice Program will use this information to work with the applicant to craft a budget for the project. Budgets will include expenses for outreach and publicity. A competitive application will include at least 10% to support staffing and advertising efforts. Including project dates, project components, and any administrative support needed.
  5. Description of the proposal (800-words maximum). Describe the nature of the proposed visitor(s) and activities. Include plans for publicity, volunteers and/or staff who will complete the project, and other relevant information. Please indicate the timelines for planning and executing the project. Proposals should address how the visitor(s) and activities will enhance the educational offerings of the university in the fields of international relations, peace, or the United Nations.
  6. Co-sponsors Please indicate other sources of support (and anticipated financial support) and any cosponsors.
  7. Statement of qualifications and resume (resumes limited to two pages per person): Please describe your qualifications to carry out the proposal and the qualifications of the visitor(s). Explain your experience in administering similar activities and your capacity to complete the proposal in addition to your other required UO responsibilities.

Selection Process:

The GJP Committee consists of interdisciplinary university faculty and at least one staff member of the University of Oregon’s Division of Global Engagement. The following criteria are considered:

  • Capacity of the individual or organization to complete the project
  • Enhancement of the educational offerings of the university in the fields of international relations, peace, or the United Nations
  • Impact on the lives and scholarship of UO students, faculty, and community
  • Overall quality of the proposal, including whether the applicant followed the directions listed below
  • Experiential Learning component

Duties and Conditions:

  1. Proposed activities must support the visit to the UO campus of a domestic or international expert in a relevant field whose visit enhances the educational offerings at the university in the areas of international relations, peace, and the United Nations.
  2. Activities should commence sometime in the academic year (or the following one) after the application.
  3. Projects must be independently administered by the grantee or grantees academic unit without reliance on members or staff of the GJP Committee, unless it has been pre-arranged during the application process.
  4. Details of project events (dates, time, locations speakers, etc.) will be provided to the GJP Committee and UO’s Division of Global Engagement as early as possible, preferably three months prior to the event.
  5. Within one month of completion of all work associated with the grant, we request that you submit a report to the GJP Committee including a description of how the GJP Grant funds were used, an explanation of the activities, a description of the number of UO community members impacted by the activities, and a summary of the goals achieved through the grant.

Application Submission:

To completed an application submit materials through the application link below for the Global Justice Program.

Questions about Global Justice Program should be sent to Elly Vandegrift ellyvan@uoregon.edu and Dennis Galvan dgalvan@uoregon.edu.

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