DR. L. RENE "BUD" GAIENNIE GRANTS
SUPPORT FOR PH.D. RESEARCH
L. Rene Gaiennie Endowment for Ph.D Research
Dr. Rene “Bud” Gaiennie served as a senior executive for the Singer Corporation and later as a Distinguished Lecturer in Management Policy in the College of Business at the University of South Florida. He left a testamentary gift to the college with the purpose of promoting, developing and disseminating the research of USF College of Business doctoral students.
The Gaiennie Endowment funds the following doctoral student research related costs.
- Dissertation research grants to a maximum of $5,000 per dissertation are available to students who have successfully defended their dissertation proposal and are students in residence at USF. Each proposal will be reviewed by the Doctoral Policy Committee. External reviews may be solicited to help the Committee in its deliberations. The Doctoral Policy Committee is solely responsible for the final determination of awards.
Research grant applications should contain a cover sheet, a brief narrative description, a budget proposal, and letters of support as described below. The grant application is to be submitted to the College Doctoral Policy Committee through your department’s representative on the Committee. Electronic submissions are acceptable.
Cover sheet: Include your name, department, phone number, e-mail, the number of years you have been in the doctoral program, the date on which you successfully defended your dissertation proposal, the amount of funding requested, the starting date of the project, and a project abstract (100-150 words summarizing the narrative description and budget proposal that follows).
Project Narrative: Limited to five single-spaced pages, the narrative should describe the research project and include: a time line for completion, the project's relation to the goals of the Gaiennie Grant Program as stated above, the project's impact on the student's advancement, and the uniqueness of the project vis-a-vis activities normally sponsored by the College and the department.
Budget Proposal: Include an itemized budget for the requested amount. Avoid estimates whenever possible by securing quotes, listed prices or bids. Stipends are not permitted. Funds are to be used for research project expenses and are not available as a student stipend. The cost of travel and per diem allowance cannot exceed the University's guidelines
Letters of Support: Include two letters of support, one each from the applicant's major professor or another member of the student's dissertation committee, and the sponsoring department's chair.
· Travel funding in the amount of $700 is available for general or specialty conferences that have been pre-approved by the department’s representative on the Doctoral Policy Committee, and where the student is presenting a paper submitted under a competitive review process. Additionally, up to $1,000 will be available over and above the normal $700 that is provided for doctoral students to attend the premier conference (no more than one conference in each department can qualify) in their discipline as long as they are presenting a paper submitted under a competitive review process. The premier conferences are as follows: FMA (finance), AMA Summer Educators Meeting (marketing), ICIS/WITS/WISE (IS/DS), AAA (accounting), and American Economics Association (economics).
The request should contain a description of the need for travel and a budget summary. Program participants should attach a copy of the program acceptance letter or other supporting documentation. An electronic request for travel funds is acceptable.
No funding will be provided to attend any conferences as a attendee, discussant, or track chair. Travel funding is available for the first four years a student is enrolled in the PhD program. All funding requests will be submitted to the student’s department representative on the Committee prior to travel.
- A one-time allotment of $1,000 per student for travel to a conference when searching for a job. Requests for travel funds are to be made prior to travel. Travel requests should be made through your department’s representative on the Doctoral Policy Committee. The Doctoral Policy Committee uses the approval of your department’s representative in making decisions on travel awards.
