Wall Alumni Service Award applications must be completed electronically. Please email all elements of your application as Word or PDF documents to Doug Cutchins, cutchins@grinnell.edu, by 5:00pm (central time) on Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

A completed application will consist of the following elements:

• An application form (click here to download). This is a PDF document that may be completed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. When you have completed the form, click the button that says "submit by email" in the top right-hand corner. This will forward the data in your form to Doug Cutchins, who will convert it into the form before forwarding it to the committee.
• A project description of no more than 10 pages which addresses the questions and issues listed below. Your essay may take whatever form you are comfortable using, but the Wall Alumni Service Award Committee will want these basic questions addressed:

a) Provide a detailed description of your project and a brief work plan. Be as specific as you can.
b) Why is this project important to you?
c) What goals do you hope to achieve?
d) When do you anticipate your project will begin, and when will it conclude?
e) Describe in detail your qualifications to undertake this project.
f) How does this project relate to your own experiences?
g) Discuss your financial needs and detail other sources of support (if any).
h) How will you document your accomplishments?

• Proposed project budget (for the duration of your project proposal)
• Grinnell College transcript if you are a current year graduate or a graduate of the last five years.
• A letter of support from your sponsoring organization (if appropriate)
• A minimum of three and a maximum of six letters of recommendation. Letters should address your ability to carry out your proposed project, and, as applicable, the importance of your project. Letters received after the deadline will not be considered.

All applicants should follow these submission guidelines, except that all documents may be single-spaced.

Letters of recommendation and support may be emailed directly to cutchins@grinnell.edu or may be included in the application materials submitted by the applicant. They can be typed into the body of an email, or attached as Word or PDF documents.

By submitting an application for the Wall Alumni Service Award, you are attesting that the information provided in your application and project description is a good-faith representation of what you wish to undertake, and that you will use the grant awarded to you for the purposes detailed in your application. All applicants are expected to adhere to these ethical guidelines.

Interviews, Notification, and Payment of Award funds

Interviews of selected candidates who are named as finalists will be held annually on the first weekend following the college's spring break, except when this weekend conflicts with Easter or Passover. In 2010, interviews will be held April 9-11. The Wall Alumni Service Award committee will pay for domestic travel costs to Grinnell for this purpose. Finalists who cannot travel to campus because of distance or other reasons will be interviewed by phone or videoconference. Finalists will be announced in early- to mid-March.

All finalists will be notified of the committee's decisions on Monday, April 12. The awards will be announced publicly at the Alumni Assembly during Reunion weekend in late May or early June.

For 2010, the committee expects to award two Wall Alumni Service Awards, each of which will be between $20,000 and $23,000. Wall Awards are paid in two installments; the first in April or May 2010, and the second after the recipient has submitted a mid-project report to the committee by a mutually agreed-upon date.

In selecting finalists and award winners, the committee takes into account the following criteria:

• Does the proposal further the program's goal of providing a tangible benefit to others?
• Does the proposal include a clear and realistic plan of implementation?
• Are the goals for the proposed project realistic and achievable?
• Does the proposal include a clear and realistic plan for evaluation and reporting on results?
• Does the applicant's background indicate the ability to carry out the project and achieve its objectives?
• To what extent would a Wall Service Award help to create a new program, or add something new to an existing program, that might not be possible without the award?
• To what extent would a Wall Service Award help to create an ongoing program that will survive beyond the period of the award?
• To what extent will the applicant be personally involved as a principal of the project?

Members of the Wall Alumni Service Award Committee for 2010 are:

• Winnon Brunson '10 (Student representative)
• Karry Carr '84 (2006 Wall Alumni Service Award recipient)
• Jim Diers '75 (Committee Chair)
• George Drake '56 (President Emeritus)
• Kathy Jacobson (Assoc. Professor of Biology)
• Wayne Moyer (Professor of Political Science)
• Hollis Pfitsch '96 (2001 Wall Alumni Service Award recipient)
• Luna Ranjit '00 (2006 Wall Alumni Service Award recipient)
• Henry Rietz '89 (Assoc. Professor of Religious Studies)
• M. Anne Spence '66 (Trustee representative)
• Barry Zigas '73 (Housing consultant)

All potential applicants are strongly encouraged by the Wall Alumni Service Award Committee to contact Doug Cutchins '93, the Wall Alumni Service Award administrator, to discuss their project before submission.

Doug Cutchins '93 (1996 Wall Alumni Service Award recipient)
Director of Social Commitment
cutchins@grinnell.edu
(641) 269-4408
1233 Park St.
Grinnell, IA 50112